Forced Return
by ThePhoenixGhirl
Summary: Six years after Hiccup is captured by Dragon Hunter's and presumed dead, a mysterious girl with features resembling a demon appears on Berk's doorsteps claiming to know his whereabouts. But with a war on the rise and this girl seeming to know more about it than anyone, can she really be trusted?
1. Stranger

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 1**

 **Stranger**

~O~

"Stoick, you have to choose!"

"I keep telling you Spitelout, it wouldn't be fair! What if he comes back?"

The raised voices of Berk's Chief and one of the councilmen echoed throughout the Great Hall. The meeting hadn't meant to escalate this far, but, yet again, Spitelout brought up a subject everyone knew Stoick was touchy about.

It was a curse from the Gods that only the council and Berk's famed Dragon Rider's where present at this time. This argument wouldn't be occurring if other townsfolk were present. Stoick wouldn't let anyone else see him in his current state. He was well aware that most self-control diminished when he was this angry.

Astrid sat cross-legged on one of the century-old benches as she listened to the heated conversation. Fishlegs sat with the other council members and half-heartedly listened as they commentated the fight in hushed voices. The Twin's where placing bets on who would through the first punch while Gobber and Snotlout prepared themselves in case they needed to intervene. They were both up for a good fight, but the Chief and the House Jorgenson representative needed to stay focused on the matter at hand.

A war was on the rise and two of Berk's best military fighters and strategists needed not to start bickering like children.

Astrid started to contemplate what would happen if Hiccup was to walk in the door. She clenched her fists and tears threatened to brim at the thought.

 _Hiccup._

"It's been six years. You have to accept that he's probably dead!"

An eerie silence followed Spitelout's comments. It was true that Hiccup had been missing for six years, but Stoick, Gobber and most of the Dragon Rider's refused to believe that he was truly dead. This showed in Stoick's composure. He shot daggers with his eyes and his fists was clenched so tight they turned white.

Stoick answered in a low voice. "We don't know that."

"You're right." Spitelout, after noticing Stoick's expression, answered in a calmer tone. "We don't know. But a war is on the rise. If something happens to you we need to choose who is next in line for chief."

Stoick raised his voice again. "As I've told you hundreds of times over, Hiccup is next in line for chief!"

Hostility returned and something in Astrid snapped.

She stood abruptly and gained the everyone's attention as she strode towards the two older men.

"You two need to stop this now!" Her tone demanding. "We have more important things to worry about than who is to be next in line for chief."

A moment of silence followed before Spitelout looked away and Stoick sighed.

"You're right Astrid." Stoick began clenching the bridge of his nose. "We do have more important things to worry about."

Just two days earlier the Rider's had been out on a patrol when a fleet of Dragon Hunter ships attacked them. Each ship was armed with several strange weapons that could injure or even kill a dragon in a matter of seconds. Some of them shoot nets made of small Gronkle Iron clasps, while others released a quiver of arrows in under a minute.

They had barely escaped with their lives. However, just as they were about to leave there was a ceasefire and Viggo Grimborn revealed himself on one of the ship's decks. Astrid despised the man, she knew he had something to do with Hiccup's disappearance. Viggo's story of Hiccup escaping from a Hunter camp and then disappearing didn't agree with her.

In short, Viggo distracted them. He talked and as he did a Hunter shot a Dragon Root arrow. It hit Stormfly's underbelly. As Astrid and the Nadder fell, Snotlout and Hookfang dove for the duo.

The ceasefire ended.

When they were finally out of range and landed on a nearby island, they found a piece of parchment attached to the arrow. On it where three simple demands:

 _Berk reveals all of their defences._

 _Berk surrenders all their dragons._

 _Berk reveals the whereabouts of the Dragon Eye._

And to top it all off was what would happen if they refused:

 _War will be declared on Berk._

Of course, the terms where denied. It simply took Gobber to read the parchment for the village to agree to fight. And now they were here, discussing their next move.

"So, now that all that's sorted." Gobber took advantage of the silence that had enveloped the room. "What are we going to do?"

"We could always go and attack their base." Suggested Snotlout. "Take them out before they can do that to us."

Astrid shook her head. "It would be too risky. You saw those arrow and net launchers."

"Our main offence is our Dragons." Chipped in Fishlegs. "An attack would be useless. We would need to bring the Hunter's onto our territory, away from their ships and weird launcher-things."

"Well, I say we blast 'em." Started Tuffnut.

Ruff continued. "Then we smash em'."

"And then blast 'em again." The Twins finished in synch.

Astrid rolled her eyes. "Where being serious guys."

"We are bein-" Ruff was interrupted by the sound of the Great Hall door opening.

All eyes turned towards the person who had intruded their conversation.

They wore a thick fur attire and a mask that covered the bottom of their face. A black hood covered the top half leaving only their void-black eyes and the obviously white-painted skin that surround visible.

"Who are you?" Demanded Stoick as he realised this wasn't one of his villagers.

A feminine voice laced heavily with foreign accent replied. "I am looking for help."

"Help with what?" Asked Astrid, distrust evident in her voice.

"Rescue my brother from Viggo Grimborn. He is captured several days ago." The strange tense confirmed Astrid's belief that Norse was not this strangers mother tongue.

"And who exactly is your brother?" Asked Gobber, equally suspicious as the others at the mention of Viggo's name.

The stranger once again replied. "I know his name as Xe'un. Berk knows as Hiccup Horrendous Haddock III."


	2. Where It All Began

**Shoutouts:**

 **Squall321: It's not even at the good part yet! ^^**

 **Mariah(Guest): I'm glad to hear it! That's the effect I was aiming for.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 2**

 **Where It All Began**

~O~

 _"Remember, go for only their sails and masts." Hiccup's voice ran through the air. "We just want to drive them away from the nesting grounds. Nothing more."_

 _Affirmative nods followed the statement. The Rider's knew what could happen if Viggo and his men found such a sacred place, especially a dragon breeding ground. It wouldn't be hard to arrive not long before Snoggletog and steal away the next generation of dragons._

 _"What if we can't get drive them away?" Astrid scanned the below ships. "There's a lot."_

 _Hiccup looked down as well, trying to keep in the early morning cloud cover. It wouldn't be long until the sun rose so high that that pitch black of toothless would be visible among the blue and white of day._

 _"I'll figure that out if it comes to that." Hiccup answered in reply._

 _Snotlout spoke next. "Well, make that plan quick. Because I think they spotted us."_

 _On queue arrows and bola-nets where shot towards the Dragon Riders. Of course, the shots were futile, the dragons were far too high. But, the Hunter's knew the Dragon Riders' position. That wasn't always something you wanted._

 _Just before Hiccup signalled to attack he looked back to the Twins. "And remember-"_

 _Tuffnut cut him off. "'Only the sails and masts'. We get it. We get it."_

 _"He always seems to assume that we'll be the ones to mess up." Grumbled Ruffnut._

 _"I'm sure Snotlout's even more prone to ruining the plan."_

 _"Hey!"_

 _"Focus guys." Came Fishlegs' voice as he scanned the fleet below, a worried expression present._

 _Hiccup rolled his eyes. Patting Toothless gently on the side of the head, the two veered off their circling course and dived towards the fleet of ships below. The other rider's all followed suit._

 _Hell broke loose._

 _Arrows, nets and, bolas shot from all different directions. Dragon fire exploded through sails and decks-courtesy of the Twins- while the screech of a Night Fury's tell-tale plasma blast went off at random intervals. It wasn't long before almost half of the ships where retreating._

 _"I think we're scaring them away," Astrid said smugly._

 _"Don't get too excited." Hiccup replied flying Toothless beside her and Stormfly. "We still have a lot more ships to take down."_

 _Hiccup scanned the battlefield. Snotlout and Hookfang where busy dodging between arrows and nets while taking every opportunity to throw fire at any sail possible. Fishlegs and Meatlug-flying as fast as they could-spewed lava blasts onto the masts of ships he and Meatlug got close enough to. And the Twins-they were being the Twins. Cackles echoed after mass explosions that definitely destroyed more than the masts and sails._

 _Hiccup made a mental note to yell at them about that later._

 _Something caught his attention._

 _On one of the few untouched ships, a group of Hunters were preparing to fire a volley of nets-and they were going to hit Snotlout. His older cousin was smiling smugly as he admired his destruction. He wasn't going to notice in time._

 _Without thinking, Hiccup thrust down on Toothless' pedal and the two sped forward just as three nets were launched._

 _Hiccup ordered for three plasma blasts. Only two came. They destroyed the first two nets-the ones that would have hit Snotlout, but the third one was still going to collide with them. Not having enough time to even brace himself, Hiccup felt the cold metal ball attached to the net collide with the side of his head._

 _He remembered briefly hearing Astrid's voice call out his name before everything went black._

 _It was a shame that would be the last time he heard her voice-or any of the other riders' voices for a very long time._

~O~

A shocked silence hung in the Great Hall as everyone examined this stranger. She was claiming to know the whereabouts of their lost heir. Their lost friend.

Snotlout was the first to speak. "Then where is he? Or are you just another of those idiots who are gonna' send us on a wild goose chase in hopes of getting our gold?" His word spit acid.

The strangers head peak slightly. "There is gold." She paused for a moment as if searching for the right words. "Like bounty?"

Astrid clenched her fists at this woman's words. "It is nothing like a bounty! We said that we would reward someone who could find him. But if you've found him then where is he?"

She either didn't recognise the anger or chose to ignore it. "He is in a Hunter camp. Xeun-uhh... Hiccup was captured four cycles-uh.. two days ago."

Astrid could see she was embarrassed by her lack of correct Norse. She slightly softened and believed her for a moment. She guessed it would be pretty hard to speak to strangers, claiming to know where their thought-to-be-dead-heir was and do it in another tongue that isn't your own.

All those feelings, however, diminished when Stoick spoke next.

His tone was full of a deep anger, as could be expected. He had been plagued for years with people bringing up his hopes that his son was alive and safe, to only be playing them for gold. "And what proof do you have of this?"

Astrid could see that Stoick had asked a question that the stranger was looking for when a smile formed. Even though her mouth was covered by a strange fur mask, her eyes lit up when Stoick spoke.

She let out two short whistles and once again the door creaked open.

The sleek figure of a once-thought extinct black dragon entered into the hall. His deep green eyes scanned the room, though even a child could see the excitement blazing in the depths of his orbs. The most notable-a surely one of the most recognisable-was the makeshift left tailfin with a lead running along the side of the dragon and connecting to a slightly altered-but still similar-pedal that only one Viking could fit their metal leg into.

"Toothless!" The words escaped Astrid's mouth before she had time to think. Soon enough everyone in the room was standing and double checking to see if it was truly their missing heir's dragon.

Toothless looked at the girl and after receiving a small nod, bounded towards the crowd. He was so happy to once again be around familiar friends.

Stoick looked up at the girl after patting Toothless just to make sure he was real. "What is your name?"

"Miara."

"How do you know my son?" His question was innocent, but Miara looked away.

"It-it is a lar-long story."

The thunderous mood that had been building just minutes prior had been washed away by this strange foreigner.

Astrid was on the brim on crying as she playing and patted the Night Fury. Fishlegs stood staring at the dragon before finally realising he was real and coming to join Astrid. The Twins head-butted each other trying to make the situation believable while Gobber stood next to Stoick examining the girl, suspicion still present. Stoick was the opposite. His bright smile could scare off any storm. Snotlout sat on one of the benches his gaze turning from the dragon to Miara.

Astrid stood and asked in an almost breathless voice. "Where is he?"

"With Dragon Hunter's. On island. It is four cycles away."

"Cycles?" Spitelout asked with his arms crossed. He wasn't one to rain on his chief's parade right now. But this girl didn't seem that trustworthy.

Miara shook her head in embarrassment. "No, no. Uh-days. Two days."

She sheepishly looked at the ground. "I am sorry. Xe'un fixes my words most times."

She looked up again. "If we leave now we can arrive before-"

Spitelout cut her off. "And why should we trust you to show us where you're going? You won't even come in here and reveal your own face."

Everyone saw a quick flash of fear cross Miara's eyes. "You will not trust me."

"And how can we trust you if you don't show us your face?" Chirped Not-So-Silent-Sven.

Toothless turned away from the attention and trotted towards Miara sensing her discomfort. He let out a worried crone as if he knew that revealing her facial features was a bad idea.

Taking a deep breath, Miara slowing undid the bindings that held her mask together. And then, with one fell swoop, she lifted her hood from her face.

Everyone flinched at the sight of her face. Why she had painted around her eyes white became very apparent.

"Demon." Breathed Spitelout.

Sure enough, not only did Miara own eyes as black as an abyss, her skin was the dark shade of charred wood.


	3. Light Hurts A Lot

**Shoutouts:**

 **Squall321: It's not even at the good part yet! ^^**

 **Mariah(Guest): I'm glad to hear it! That's the effect I was aiming for.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 3**

 **Light Hurts A Lot**

~O~

A shiver went down Miara's spine as she sat against the cold stone of Berk's cells. Water drizzled outside sending the odd drop onto her head. Miara would move, but she knew it would make no difference. Most of her outer furs had been stripped from her and Toothless somewhere deep in the nearby forest.

"So much for getting off this island quickly." She muttered quietly in Katalian-her mother tongue.

Miara closed her eyes and hugged knees to her chest. She couldn't stand Vikings. The second they saw something they didn't understand they either destroyed it on the spot or shoved it in a cage. Miara couldn't afford to waste time either. Xe'un needed her help. She now has only four days to rescue him before the Hunter's destroyed anything that opposed them.

And, if Xeun's theory was correct, Berk was on the top of that list.

Miara couldn't help but have a frustrated admiration for his stubbornness. Even though the people of Berk had made a majority of his life a waking nightmare, he was still doing everything in his power to help them. He had told her of how he had to stop a war just to speak to his father.

Well, not those exact words, but that's how she perceived it.

And now, because of his frustratingly admirable stubbornness, he was going to be used as leverage for the Hunters to get what they want or - the more likely option - end up getting himself killed.

The angry creak of a nearby door opening interrupted her thoughts. Miara looked up as thunderous footsteps approached. A female in her mid-twenties appeared. Her blonde hair was braided down her left shoulder and deep blue eyes blazed with anger. Her name was Astrid if she remembered correctly. From the way Xeun had talked of her, she knew the two must have been more than 'just friends'.

"Do you have any idea what you have done?" She almost screamed.

Miara didn't move but responded with a simple, yet sarcastic statement. "Yes. Because I have been able to explore Berk."

Astrid's eyes narrowed as she gripped the cell bars Miara was locked behind. "You are going to use whatever horrible magic you have and make everyone forget about what you said."

Miara looked puzzled.

"But I guess you would find joy in watching others suffer." Astrid continued as she obviously held back tears. "You made us think that someone we all loved-that I loved- was alive. And you used your horrid illusion to 'prove' it."

"It is not trickery." Miara's voice was soft.

Astrid replied through gritted teeth. "Then where that dragon you made us all see."

Something clicked. Now, Miara was used to the assumption that she was a demon with otherworldly like powers. She heard all the magic she was believed to have. Teleportation, flying, causing blindness and one to go mute, and the most common, making illusions.

The people of Berk thought that Toothless was an illusion. They hadn't seen him since she had been forced to this cell so it would make sense.

"Toothless is in the forest."

She had instructed him to go there after Spitelout started tackling her to the ground. She wouldn't dare let anyone hurt that dragon. He was far too precious to Miara and especially her brother. Xe'un would do the same for Kink-her dragon-so why wouldn't she do it for his?

"And why should I believe a single word you say, demon." The last word spat acid at Miara.

Miara's eyes narrowed. "I am not a demon. I am human, just like you."

Astrid scoffed. "You certainly look like a demon."

"And you look like a madwoman Astrid." Miara stood and edged closer to the cell doors. "But I know you're not."

Astrid went rigid. "No one has told you my name."

"Hiccup has." Miara looked to the ground. "He will die. They will kill him."

Astrid remained silent for a minute. Then, she shook her head. She refused to believe this demon who had almost broken Stoick. She had brought him back down to how he was five years ago when people started to truly believe Hiccup was dead.

"I am not a demon. I am not a trickster. And I am not a liar." Miara looked up her eyes pleading. "Please believe me."

Part of Astrid stopped. The way she spoke, the way she was pleading her, it was as if Miara was telling the truth.

"Your skin." Astrid paused struggling to find the right words. "Why is so…"

"Dark?" Miara responded. "I have different gods and come from a different place. Katalian's created with dark skin so daylight will not hurt us."

Astrid supposed that made sense. Shaking her head she turned on her heel. This was a demon! What was she thinking even talking to it?

Miara noticed Astrid's constant changing of emotion in her eyes. "Why are you here?"

"To see if you had left." Astrid spat. "A real friend of Hiccup's would have been out of here in under an hour."

Not bothering to say goodbye Astrid left the jail cells and back out onto the streets of Berk.

Miara sat back on the ground. Astrid did have a point. Either the people of Berk were going to let her out, or she was escaping herself.

~O~

Light _hurt a lot. As well as his head. And ribs. And the rest of his body. Let's just say all of Hiccup hurt. And the light was making it worse._

 _Hiccup groaned as he awoke. His memory fogged and stomach threating to spill the bile that was climbing up the back of his throat._

 _"So," drawled a familiar voice that made Hiccup halt in his movements, "you're awake. I was thinking that hit to the head knocked you out so much you'd never open your eyes."_

 _Rubbing his eyes Hiccup pushed himself off the cold stone floor of a cell and came face to face with Viggo Grimborn._

 _Hiccup's eyes narrowed. "Viggo." The aim was to make the word come out in a menacing way. However, it merely came out as a rasp._

 _Hiccup next broke into a coughing fit. He was only now noticing how dry his throat was. It was a similar feeling as to when he would spend too much time under the salty water of the ocean. That thought triggered another._

 _Where was he? What about the other Riders? And Toothless, Viggo better not have hurt him. Hiccup shook his head trying to shake away the exhaustion that plagued him. If he could get his thoughts together, he might be able to figure out what had got him into this mess._

 _"Your friends are_ fine. _" Viggo said from the other side of the cell bars as if reading Hiccup's thoughts. "As for you, you took a_ bola _to the head."_

 _"I guess that explains a throbbing headache." The young Dragon Rider replied under his breath. Suddenly, he looked to Viggo his eyes once again narrowing. "What do you want?"_

 _The older man chuckled at Hiccup's futile attempt of being menacing. Hiccup was the one in the cell, while Viggo had a half an army outside._

 _"To see if you were alive. I do need you breathing for my plan to work, my dear Hiccup."_

 _With that Viggo straightened up and left the cave housing_ the Hunter's _jail cells. A door slammed behind_ the Hunter's _leader and Hiccup was left in total darkness._

 _"This is going to be a long day." Hiccup decided._

~O~

It was dark when Miara finally decided that she had wasted enough time on this freezing excuse of an island. The Berkians had no interest in freeing her, so it was time to take matters into her own hands.

Speaking of hands…

Since Astrid had left, two other men had come to tie her hands with rope. She could see the terror in her eyes. It hurt. A lot. She hated how people would be outright terrified of her because of the way the Gods had created her people.

It was easy to undo the knots the men had tied. They were rushing the job so their knots where relatively loose. All she had to do was continually twists her wrists until finally, the ropes fell away. Xe'un had shown her that trick, although it was nothing compared to what he could do. In under a minute he could escape from any hold. Whether his hand where at his back or front didn't matter the slightest.

Well maybe a little, but he would never admit that.

Miara stood a shiver once again running down her dark spine. The one thing she hated about being this far north was the horrible weather. It was more than once she had suffered from the dreaded cold sickness that plagued the Northern Islands inhabitants most the year.

She made quick work of the lock with two small metal pins she kept in her hair just for situations like this. It was funny that even the Hunter's would check her over when she captured. The people of Berk had just thrown Miara in a cell not even thinking about whether she had the means to escape.

But then again, the Hunters knew she wasn't a demon set on killing them all.

Well, maybe just the first part of that statement is true.

The cell door swung open and Miara was free. The quick thought of the Berkians leaving the easy escape as a trap crossed her mind, but then Miara remembered how Xe'un had talked of the Berkians. They did have intelligence. But it came in small packages for the older generations.

Taking a deep breath Miara slowly pushed open the door to the outside world. She had expected shouts and screams but there was only silence. Her void-like eyes examined the surrounding area. The only light was the dying flames in several lanterns that lit the streets.

"Later than I thought, I suppose." She murmured in Katalian.

Miara silently took a step forward, then another, and another. Soon she was running at a full pelt across the grass that lay between the cells and the edge of a cliff. Now came the hardest part.

Taking a deep breath, Miara mustered the loudest Night Fury call she could.

"The demon escaped!" The clearly terrified cry of a watchman resonating throughout the quiet streets of Berk.

The tranquil mood didn't last long and soon shouts and the clatter of weapons rang through Miara's ears.

Then the shouts she expected finally made their grand debut.

Miara didn't stop. She couldn't risk another capture. Xe'un's life was on the line. Her best friends life was on the line. Her brother's life was on the line. There were less than four days to find him, release him and complete their plan to avoid this war. The Berkians weren't going to listen so she was on her own.

Once again, Miara screamed a Night Fury call. She heard the Vikings behind her freeze momentarily when there was an answer.

"Night Fury!" Came an anonymous call from the twentyish men and woman chasing her. "Get down."

If she had time, Miara would have turned and laughed at the moments ago fearless Vikings, shielding themselves from one of the most playful dragons she knew of. But Miara didn't have time. Accelerating faster than she knew possible, Miara jumped off the edge of the cliff.

Time slowed as she waited for sharp claws to clasp her wrists and carry her into the air.

When they finally did, time sped up. Miara felt her body thrown high into the air before falling back down onto the back of a familiar dragon. Adjusting herself into the saddle she thrust on the pedal and shot out into the sun-derived sky.

She was aware of the Nadder, Gronkle, Zippleback and Monstrous Nightmare following her tail. And that was why Miara made sure to stay at a speed all four dragons could keep up with.

~O~

The Dragon Riders were silent when Astrid entered the academy. She looked at their distraught faces. This whole ordeal had not just affected herself and Stoick, but everyone who had been close to Hiccup.

The sun had set about an hour ago. Usually, they would all be having a moonlight race on their dragons. But no one could bring themselves to do it. Especially with the sudden burst of hope having been stripped away so quickly.

"I spoke to the demon." Astrid said earning surprised glances from the others. "It said that it's human and just has different gods."

"I don't buy a second of it." Snotlout's eyes narrowed. Astrid assumed that he would be taking this the worst. Everyone knew he felt guilty about Hiccup's disappearance.

If he had been paying attention Hiccup wouldn't have been caught to begin with. If Snotlout had been paying attention Hiccup might still be here with them. Astrid shook her mind of the thoughts. Snotlout wasn't at fault. It was the Dragon Hunters who had shot him and Toothless down. Only they were to blame.

An awkward silence fell over the group. It was Tuffnut who broke it.

"Do you guys really think he's alive?"

"What do you mean?" Fishlegs asked in return.

Tuff looked to his sister who had been sharing the thoughts he had spoken. "Hiccup. Do you think he's still alive?"

"Of course he is!" Snotlout shot back. "Are you really going to give up on him that easily."

Ruffnut dove to defend her brother. "You think this is easy? We've been looking for him for six years. Six years. There is not a single trace of him anywhere."

"I can't believe you two!" Snotlout countered. "Fish, Astrid back me up."

Astrid looked to the ground while Fishlegs avoided eye contact.

"Snotlout," Fishlegs began after some moments of silence, "it has been six years. There just comes a time when you have to accept that…"

Anger boiled deep in Snotlout at his friend's words. "Accept what?"

Astrid spoke next. "Accept that Hiccup is never coming back."

Everyone was taken aback by Astrid's statement. She had been the one who refused to believe that Hiccup was gone for good. She had been the one to search the longest, even when everyone had set camp for the night. She was the one who caused the most destruction to Hunter camps in search for her betrothed.

But, here she was, telling Snotlout that it was time to accept that their best friend really was gone. That Hiccup was in Valhalla and they wouldn't see him until they joined the worthy warriors themselves.

Snotlout opened his mouth to say something back before the sound could leave his mouth a yell resounded out in the distance.

"The demon has escaped."

The Riders didn't even need to discuss what to do as they signalled for their dragons. In less than thirty seconds each one of them was up in the air ready to reprimand the one who had caused so much pain.

A Night Fury call followed by the swoosh of a black dragon whisking past them made the Rider's pull their dragons to a stop. Each of the dragons squawked in delight at the familiar scent. The Night Fury didn't stop. Before anyone could react the demon jumped from the cliff and was caught by the dragon that caught everyone off guard.

Miara was thrown into the air before landing on the Night Fury's back and then disappearing into the darkness.

"It's not an illusion." Snotlout muttered under his breath.

"What?" Fishlegs asked only half catching what Snotlout had said.

"It's not an illusion!" He replied louder. "What would be the point of calling the dragon-calling Toothless. If she can just make it appear out of thin air?"

The other Rider's contemplated this for a moment before Snotlout spoke again. "If she wasn't lying about Toothless then why would she about Hiccup?"

"We've talked about this, Snotlout." Astrid replied. "And it's a demon. It wants to get your hopes up. That's what demons do!"

Snotlout flew Hookfang closer to Astrid and gave her a dead serious glare. "You can believe whatever you want Astrid. You can throw away every hope of Hiccup being alive if you want. But I'm not. If this demon has any lead on where Hiccup is I'm going to take it."

Whether I find him or not won't matter. Because at least he'll know-if he is in Valhalla-that I never stopped looking for him. And then maybe he can forgive me for getting him into whatever mess he ended up in after he saved my life."

"Snotlout…" Astrid trailed. "I never knew…"

Snotlout looked eastwardly-the way Miara had flown. "So you can either come with me or tell Stoick where I'm going."

He urged his dragon forward and without another word shot off after Miara and Toothless. Astrid gave herself a few seconds to comprehend what had just happened before shaking her head.

"Ruff, Tuff. Go tell Stoick we're going after the demon. Make sure he knows we'll be back in under two weeks."

The Twins nodded and beckoned Barf and Belch towards the ground.

"What are we going to do?" Fishlegs asked.

"We're going to have one last shot at finding Hiccup."

~O~

If it were physically possible fumes would be smoking out of Stoick's ears.

First, this demon comes and gets his hopes up about his only son being alive. Then, it rips that hope away using black magic. And finally, disappears into the darkness of the nights.

"Stoick," Gobber began grabbing Stoick's shoulder. He never got to finish.

"Stoick!" Came a shout from above. It was Ruffnut. "Astrid told us to tell you we're going after the demon chic. We'll be back in under two weeks."

"What?" Stoick boomed. "No, you're not!"

The Twins cackled as they ignored their chief.

"We'll either come back broken-hearted or with your son!" Tuffnut added as the two flew off to catch up with the other Astrid, Fishlegs and Snotlout. "Maybe even both."


	4. Some Progress and the Slavemark

**Shoutouts:**

 **Squall321: Yes I am, but it's not going to be till much later on. I would explain but that may spoil it...**

 **Mariah(Guest): Yep! That's the plan anyway!**

 **Merlin(Guest): You have no idea how happy that makes me. I've been drafting this story for ages now and know that it's grabbing peoples attention is a dream come true. As for the error you picked up, thanks for pointing that out. I'll have to go back and fix it when I get a chance.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 4**

 **Some Progress and the Slavemark**

~O~

Rays of dawn peeked over the horizon when the silence that had plagued the Dragon Rider finally came to an end.

"I'm just thinking out loud when I say this." Tuffnut gestured to the hardly visible Night Fury several hundred meters ahead. "But has anyone thought about how we're going to stop this crazy demon lady from spotting during the day?"

Astrid replied dryly. "Ask Snotlout, this was his idea."

"You didn't have to come." he murmured from in front. "You could have stayed on Berk and it wouldn't have mattered."

"And let you get yourself killed?" Fishlegs asked. "You know Stoick and Spitelout would kill us."

"I don't see why letting Snotlout die would be such a bad thing," Ruffnut said.

"Hey!"

Astrid rolled her eyes. "So, Snotlout. What is your plan to stay out of sight during the day?"

"Well... Uh... We could- Maybe-"

Tuffnut spoke up. "I don't think we have to worry about her seeing us."

"And why's that?" His sister asked.

"Because I think we blew our cover already."

Sure enough, the startling cry of a Night Fury cut the air. The Riders looked ahead to see a black blur of dragon speeding towards them. Astrid pulled her head closer to Stormfly as the black dragon suddenly veered upwards. She looked behind them to see the dragon and rider pulling up close to her.

Astrid froze as she looked the demon over. Its appearance had by far changed. The skin was still the same charred timber and eyes reflecting its own soul. The darks furs that had been left on Berk were replaced with more vibrant red and brown ones. A hood lay neatly on the demon's shoulders and a fresh layer of white paint was added around the eyes. The pitch like hair that had once been tied back into a tight plat was now let loose with it's thick, tight-knit curls showing. The only way Astrid could find to describe the hair was that of a sheep's wool coat.

"You can stop looking so terrified." Came a voice as Miara pulled a lever attached to Toothless' saddle. "I know you want to find your friend, and if you listen, I can show you where he is."

"How did you even know we were here!" Came Tuffnut's shocked gasp. "Do demons have super hearing? Can I have super hearing?"

Ruffnut gave her brother a swift punch to the shoulder earning a quiet 'ow' in response.

"A hearless man could hear you Dragon Rider's fighting."

Astrid spat Changewing acid. "What do you want? Are you here to send us to Valhalla or play with our heads more. You've obviously put some spell on Snotlout so reverse it and let us go home!"

Miara visibly sighed. "Xe'un did say you could find people hard to trust. I just never thought it would go this far..."

The other Riders watched in silence as Miara flicked her foot out of a pedal and stood up in Toothless' saddle. "I know him as Xe'un. Berk knows as Hiccup. But both know as Dragon Master. So, I will show you what he has taught me."

Without another word, she stepped off the Dragon beneath her and started to fall towards the ocean below. With a mighty sound coming from her lungs, the demon screamed a rare known Deadly Nadder distress call.

Hiccup had first discovered it when exploring an island about an hour's flight from Dragon's Edge. He had noted how if a Deadly Nadder called this signal any Nadder would come to their aid. Whether they were from the same or rivalling herd would not matter. He had even recorded some Nadder's fighting each other so they could win the right to fight. He had theorised that it may have been a way to compete for mates not long before Snoggletog.

And of course, if this worked for all Deadly Nadder's, it could only be expected that it would also apply to Stormfly.

While Toothless flapped idly by as Miara fell, Stormfly dove towards the falling demon bringing a yelling Astrid with her. The blue dragon opened her bird-like claws and caught a smiling Miara just before she could break the surface of the ocean.

"What did I tell you?" Came a laugh from under the dragon. "I know Hiccup, and he has taught me much."

Astrid was divided as Stormfly flew up to join the rest of the bewildered Riders. The mental war was reaching its climax as Astrid watched Miara climb back onto Toothless. Was it possible that this 'demon' was really telling the truth? It- She certainly looked innocent enough. When Astrid really thought about, Miara hadn't really done anything wrong. She had simply come to Berk hoping to show them the location of their missing heir. The main reason that everyone was so distrusting towards her was that of her skin colour.

Astrid realised how much that must hurt. It would be like saying no one with green eyes could live on Berk. Quickly scanning ahead, Astrid spotted conveniently placed island.

"We will land on that island." She gestured towards the growing land mass, and looking to the other Riders said: "We will talk there."

~O~

 _Only about two hours had passed before the cell doors opened again. This time it wasn't Viggo, but two other Hunter's. They unlooked the cell door and hoisted Hiccup off his less-than-comfortable position on the ground. Without either of them saying a word Hiccup was dragged out into the light._

 _As much as he struggled, Hiccup could not break their hold. He tried complimenting them to throw off their guard, even digging his metal leg into the ground-though that just resulted with an elbow to the ribs. But finally, as the guards made their way through the middle of the camp, Hiccup just gave up his struggle and walked with his captors._

 _It wasn't until Hiccup saw Viggo, Krogan and most of the camp's available Hunter's that the young man realised something big was going to happen._

 _"Peer pressure?" He inquired with his signature sass. "I know it may come as a surprise, but I spent the first fifteen years of my life as the village laughing stock. This won't faze me the slightest."_

 _"We are well aware of what your life was like during Berk's war with dragons." Came Krogan's deep voice. "But that is not what we are interested in."_

 _Hiccup's eyes widened at Krogan's first statement. "How do you-"_

 _Viggo cut him off, "We have our sources, dear Hiccup. But, as Krogan said, we are not interested in your past. Your future is of far more interest."_

 _The question of a raised eyebrow was answered when Krogan motioned to a hunter and they handed him a long metal pole with a brand at the end he had only ever seen twice on Berk._

 _The Slave Mark._

 _"I assume you know what this is?" Viggo moved closer to Hiccup as the two Hunters from before pushed him roughly. "Then you must be well aware of how it can affect someone's reputation."_

 _"How on earth did you get that?" Hiccup ignored Viggo's statement for the moment. "There's a reason those are only owned by the chiefs of Viking tribes."_

 _Krogan spoke again. "Of course we are aware of that. But, again, the laws of your home do not apply outside the archipelago Hiccup Haddock. Out here, the ones with power make the rules. And, if you haven't noticed-" Krogan gestured to the large crowd of Hunters "-we have the power."_

 _"The Slavemark is the ultimate mark of shame in the archipelago." Viggo continued. "If someone is shown to have the Slavemark, they are to be instantly banished from their tribe and forced to live in slavery forever. It does not matter whether they are a child, man, woman or even heir to the chiefdom, any who bare this mark will suffer in shame for the rest of their life."_

 _Hiccup's eyes widened, fear evident. He struggled against the resumed hold from the two Hunter's as Viggo spoke again. "And you, Hiccup Haddock, are about to witness such humiliation first hand."_

 _A hunter handed Viggo the long metal pole. At one end was the curved shape of a thin dragon curling into an 's'. It was strange how the branding worked. It wasn't like most other brands where the metal had to be heated over a fire. The brand didn't burn the skin. In fact, the two people Hiccup had seen receive the Slavemark didn't seem to be in any pain at all. But despite the painless application, it was impossible to remove._

 _Unless you were to cut off the body part the mark was attached to, you were stuck with it forever, and all the consequences that follow._

 _Hiccup felt Viggo's rough hand brush away hair on the side of his forehead._

 _"No! Not there!" The yells came out before Hiccup could stop himself. "Anywhere but there!"_

 _Viggo held the brand just above his skin. "Where else am I supposed to put it? I need to make sure your friends see it."_

 _Before Hiccup could resist once again, Viggo pressed the cold metal to this forehead. Hiccup froze as the metal object was pulled away._

 _Viggo and Krogan grinned at the shocked silence the boy had been placed in while bursts of laughter came from the crowd of Hunters who had gathered to watch the show._

 _"Take him back to his cell," Krogan commanded, "a ship to take him to the Amber Slavelands will be here tomorrow."_

 _Hiccup didn't fight as he was dragged across the Hunters camp. He ignored the terrified calls of caged dragons. The only things he could think about were the laughs and snickers he received every time someone looked at him and the fact that he may never be able to return to Berk again._

~O~

"I will hunt." Declared Miara as she scavenged through Toothless' saddlebag. "I will come back at Sunhigh."

Astrid nodded as Miara made her way into the forest alone, a suitable hunting knife in hand. The blonde turned to the other Dragon Riders who had just dismounted their dragons.

"What's 'Sunhigh'?" Asked Tuffnut.

"When the sun's really high?" Suggested his Twin sister.

"Focus." Astrid snapped. "We need to discuss our next course of action."

"Well, I'm going with Miara either way." Stated Snotlout. "I haven't flown for hours on end with no food just to go back now."

Astrid nodded understanding there was also a deeper meaning for his wanting to continue. It hadn't been until the night earlier that Astrid found out how much guilt he had felt for Hiccup's disappearance.

"Well, I say we still keep an eye on her," Fishlegs said. "Anyone can learn that Nadder call if you study them long enough."

"Or you have magic voodoo powers." Ruff backed up Fishlegs.

"Tuff?" Asked Snotlout. "How about you?"

The Thorston male brought his hands to his face. "I don't know. I'm divided between going back to Berk and sleeping or following this crazy demon lady and possibly seeing really cool explosions!"

Ruffnut decided. "We'll leave him as undecided."

Astrid inwardly sighed. "I think we should trust her."

Surprised looks came from everyone.

"Miara hasn't really done anything wrong. We just didn't believe her because of what other people in the past had done, and because of what she looks likes. Besides-" Astrid gestured to the group of dragons happily playing with Toothless "-there is no way that's not real."

"But Astrid, she put some crazy spell on Stormfly." Fishlegs reasoned. "Why else would your dragon rescue a demon? Even if it was a distress call, dragons are smart and know who is and isn't worth saving."

"Stormfly wasn't affected by any weird black magic. I know my dragon. And I know the difference between Stormfly being instructed to help someone, and her just helping because it's the right thing to do." The blonde shieldmaiden paused. "I'm with Snotlout's, I'm going with Miara."

The Twins replied to Astrid's comment in unison. "Fine, we'll come too."

They received a smirk in reply.

"What about you Fishy?" Tuff asked. "You in on this too."

Sighing, Fishlegs nodded and then looked to Snotlout. "Yer, I guess it wouldn't be fair to give up on Hiccup so quickly."

A disbelieving smile crept up Snotlout's face. "But just so you know, I'm still going to tell you guys if Miara does anything weird."

The other's nodded in agreement.

"We'll sleep for a few hours, have something to eat and then head off again." Astrid clarified. "I'll ask Miara what island Hiccup is on and then we'll figure out the quickest way there."

~O~

Miara smiled as she listened to the Berkians' conversation from the trees above. She was finally getting somewhere. And it was about time too. She had wasted enough time as it was. Now they only had three days to find Xeun and stop a war from starting.

"Hao rikifo, oopejelo xo." Muttered Miara.

It was a phrase in Katalian-Xe'un's favourite-which literally meant: 'Much work, small time.'

Miara slithered down the tree and into the woods. She preferred a bow over the knife she was wielding, but her one was with Kink-her dragon.

"Better get hunting." Miara forced the Norse.


	5. Betrayal ft Past and Present

**Shoutouts:**

 **TheLastCookie23: Thanks! I hope to not disappoint you in the future with my plans!**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 5**

 **Betrayal ft. Past and Present**

~O~

Astrid marvelled at the sheer size of the map in front of her. The rider's looked to Miara who was slowly unfolding the hundreds of glued together pieces of parchment. Some were littered with words that had begun to fade over time, while others had newly added runes of which none of the Berkian's had ever seen before.

"You made all this?" Fishlegs asked bewildered as his eyes ran across the lines.

Hundreds of islands-both named and unnamed-were clearly marked. Even notes of the native dragon species where written in the messy runes that you would have to squint to read.

"Myself and Xe'un," Miara said after finally laying the wide map across the ground.

In total it measured to be about five meters wide and five tall. Strange places like 'Rome' were drawn as a thousand times larger than Berk. It was evident how very little the tribes of the archipelago knew of the outside world.

"Xe'un still wants to find America."

"But America doesn't exist." Said Snotlout peeking through the Twin's shoulders.

Miara giggled. "I think that is his point."

The once-thought-demon scanned the map, her finger tracing an invisible line from Berk to the island they had landed on Great Tree Island. She then continued in a curved line as to where she had last seen Hiccup.

"Here." Her finger landed on an island with the marking of a familiar tribal crest.

Snotlout's eyes narrowed. "Outcast Island."

~O~

What would you do if suddenly everything you held dear was ripped away? Would you cry? Scream? Murder someone?

All those thoughts were running their course through Hiccup's mind as he was led down towards the docks. A large ship with the same brand that had been marked to the right of Hiccup's forehead came into view. The one-legged Viking swallowed thickly as he scanned the area surrounding him.

If he could just manage one more escape, it may mean that he would never have to live a life as a slave. Even though he would have no place to return to, and the Hunters would hunt him down, at least he wouldn't be forced to the Amber Slavelands-a horrid place that was plagued with constant dragon attacks, and the people who worked there were forced out into the shallow orange water to search for amber whenever the tide went out.

But there was nothing he could do. Two Hunters held him in an unbreakable hold, the only cover on this rocky island was a lone tree at least three-hundred meters up a cliff. As the splintered wood of a dock approached, Hiccup dug his metal leg into the ground in one last, desperate attempt of escape.

But it was useless. Even though Hiccup struggled wildly against the Dragon Hunters' hold, they wordlessly dragged him across the rocky terrain. Hiccup received a villainess smirk that was thrown by Viggo and Krogan.

"I hope you enjoy the rest of your life." Krogan jeered gesturing to the purplish-blue mark that stuck out on Hiccup's forehead like a sore thumb.

Hiccup spoke in an uncharacteristic scowl. "No prison has kept me locked away for long, Krogan."

"Maybe not," Viggo said taking a step closer. "But even if you do escape, you have nowhere to go. I don't think you've quite let that fact sink in."

Hiccup was silent as the words bounced around in his mind. Shaking his head, Hiccup's retaliation was halted by the two men leading him onto the gangplank.

"Don't worry Haddock," called Krogan, "we will tell the other Dragon Riders that you and your Night Fury died heroically."

Hiccup's green eyes widened when he was reminded of Toothless. "You better not harm a scale on Toothless'!" The yell was muffled as the men pushed him onto the boat.

Compared to what Hiccup had seen before, the ship was a true masterpiece. From the deck, it was about five meters wide and twenty-ish long. A Captain's quarters was up a short flight of steps behind a balcony that overlooked the rest of the deck. Three massive masts with undrawn sails lined along the centre. At the bow of the ship was an area with several tables and a few scattered instruments. Hiccup assumed that was where the crew would spend their free time.

While his hands were tied with several ropes behind his back, Hiccup was forced to his knees. He looked up as a gruff man with a ragged, unkempt beard and the unmistakable stench of liquor walked towards him.

"So your Hiccup Haddock, eh?" He asked lifting Hiccup's lowered chin. "And here I was expecting someone a wee bit older."

Hiccup rolled his eyes. He heard that line-and several similar ones-so many times before. "Sorry to disappoint."

The man-whom Hiccup assumed to be the captain of the ship-narrowed to his eyes. Suddenly an unexpected slap across the cheek caused a red mark to form.

"First thing you need to learn boy," spat the captain, "you don't speak unless told to, you don't look unless looked at and you don't disrespect your superiors." The ships' captain flicked the strands of hair Hiccup had used to mostly hide the Slavemark away. "That-" he placed his finger roughly on the mark, "-makes you nothing. The sooner you accept that the better off you'll be."

Hiccup swallowed and nodded.

"Put him under the deck!" The captain called. "Viggo says he's a slippery one!"

As Hiccup was once again roughly pushed away, he couldn't bring himself to accept this situation. It was too surreal. Hiccup was shoved out of his thoughts as he fell to the ground and a cell door slammed behind him.

It wasn't until the ship finally starting moving that Hiccup finally realised the reality of his situation.

~O~

"But the Outcasts are Berk's allies," Fishlegs stated. "They would tell us if they found Hiccup!"

"Unless they are betraying us," Ruffnut noted. "Berk and the Outcasts haven't really had the best relationship over the years."

Astrid stepped into the conversation before it got out of hand. "No one is accusing the Outcasts of betrayal just yet. Miara what did you see?"

The dark skinned woman stood up from her crouching position. "Little. It was dark and the attack was unexpected. Xe- Hiccup and me were shot at by arrows and nets. Hiccup took a net for me."

If the situation wasn't as serious, the Rider's would have laughed at the irony. Hiccup taking a net for someone was the whole reason he had disappeared. But, there was no room for laughter. Not at the moment anyway.

"It doesn't matter whether the Outcasts have betrayed us or not." Astrid declared. "We will act like we're heading to enemy territory."

Everyone-except for Miara-nodded in agreement. Astrid and Fishlegs seemed to be the only two who noticed. Sharing a suspicious glance, the Gronkle and Nadder rider silently agreed to discuss it later.

"Do you wish to rest?" Astrid ignored the strange formality of Miara's wording and looked to the other riders.

They slowly nodded as if asking permission from Astrid.

"Yes, we will. Besides, it would be best to enter under the cover of darkness."

Outcast island was still at least another twelve hours away, if the Riders got even an hour of rest and left immediately, they would still arrive in the early hours of the morning.

Miara nodded in agreement.

Astrid kept note of every detail about this 'girl'. She could tell that Snotlout was trusting of her, the twins the same, but herself and Fishlegs were still on edge about her. Even though it was Astrid's idea to go with her, the way Miara looked during their discussion, it was as if she knew something else but wouldn't say.

The blonde shieldmaiden closed her eyes and took a deep breath, she did not have time to focus solely on whether Miara was trustworthy or not. The possibility of the Outcasts' betrayal was of much more interest to her.

Immediately after the Riders delivered the declaration of war to Stoick, he sent out a letter to all Berk's allies. The Berserker tribe responded immediately, the Defenders of the Wing would more than likely have sent their reply and the same applied to the Wing Maidens. The Bog Burglars and Meatheads had notified Stoick they were on their way to help as well. That left only the Outcasts' left.

Of course, there was the possibility that a letter had already been received back on Berk, but Astrid still needed to investigate. Stoick was probably furious as it was for the Riders sudden departure, add that with the belief of being tricked by a demon and being betrayed, Astrid shuddered at the thought.

Only a second had passed when Astrid opened her eyes again. "Rest up, we have a long flight ahead."

~O~

The last harsh rays of sunlight had long made their way over the horizon as a group of dragons and their riders silently entered Outcast waters. Miara shuddered as the fluorescent light of the moon reflected against the jagged rocks of the shallow ocean below. She thought about what could have happened if Xe'un had hit one of them. She had personally crashed into a sea stack during a race once and broke her wrist. Horrifying thoughts ran their course as Miara realised that it would be much worse while trapped in a net.

Not only was she worried for her brother, but her dragon as well. Her poor Kink was probably locked in a cage with no escape. She knew that enclosed spaces terrified the not-so-bright dragon. He would have driven the Hunters nuts with his crying. Miara forced a smile and reminded herself of something Xe'un had said.

'No matter what happens, I'll look after you and Kink if you do the same for Toothless and I.'

Kink would be safe with Xe'un-or Hiccup as the Berkians called him. The Katalian made a mental note to ask what he would like to be referred to from now on. While she was sure he didn't mind the name of 'Xe'un', Vikings could become easily offended by the simplest of things.

"Miara." Her beckoning snapped Miara out of her deep thoughts. She looked up the man who had spoken: Fishlegs. "I was just wondering..." He trailed. "How has he been. Hiccup I mean." The last part was added quickly.

Miara swallowed thickly unsure of how to reply. The Berkians had a right to know how their thought-to-be-dead heir was doing, but Miara wasn't sure whether it was her place. A lot had changed over the past six years. Miara had met Xe'un not long after his initial capture and the person from back then was very distant to the one she knew now. Of course, he hadn't completely turned a new leaf but he was more cunning, his plans wilder and full of more chaos, not to mention the subtle sadistic side he had shown once or twice.

"He is alive." Was all she replied after some moments of silence.

Even the dragons felt everyone tense.

"W-what's that supposed to mean?" Asked Astrid as she imagined the worst.

Miara clenched the handles on Toothless' saddle as the dragon let out a soft croon. "Things change, people change. Hiccup has changed." Miara paused to take a breath. "What has happened Hiccup must tell you himself, but please be ready for a different him."

Miara tensed her shoulders as she felt Astrid's glare turn towards her. She was aware that a large rift of mistrust was placed between them. The only way to demolish it would be to let them see Xe'un for themselves. She sighed in relief when Astrid didn't speak.

Tuffnut and Ruffnut, however, did.

"Hey, guys." Spoke Tuff from the front of the pack.

Ruffnut continued. "I don't think the Outcasts betrayed us."

All attention turned towards the island that had gotten ever closer.

"Why's that?" Snotlout asked.

"Because they've been taken over," Astrid stated.

Everyone eyed the rock-ridden island. Tents with the Hunter crest had been set up, Outcast soldiers and dragon alike were imprisoned in Yak pens and other buildings throughout the island. Dragon Hunters screamed orders while strange machinery was pushed throughout the island on wooden carts. Miara looked to the heavens praying to her own gods, Snotlout cursed, Astrid prayed to Odin for help, Fishlegs swallow nervously, while the Twins stared in shocked silence. There was no way a group of six people and five dragons could ever beat them.

"We need to go back to Berk and report this." Murmered Astrid.

Miara stiffened. "No! You can't! We are so close to Xe'un. We cannot afford to go back."

Astrid furrowed her eyebrows. "So you would rather us risk all of Berk's safety for something we can't even be sure is true."

Astrid was being torn in two. She couldn't decide between trusting Miara or believing she was a demon. The shieldmaiden had responsibilities as one of the Berk Guard while also having the responsibility to her betrothed. She had promised Stoick she would die fighting for her tribe while also promising Hiccup she would always be by his side. For the past six years, she had been breaking every promise she had made to Hiccup. Add a 'demon' claiming to know his whereabouts and you have one big mess.

"You Vikings frustrate me so much. You only see what you wish to see, never thinking about what might happen in the future." Miara continued in a dark voice. "Anything you don't understand is either humiliated, destroyed on the spot or thrown in a cage."

"That's not true!" Retorted Astrid.

The other Riders looked on nervously. They all seemed to understand that facing either woman's wrath would end badly.

"Did you not throw me a jail cell because I look a demon according to you?"

"Well, you-"

Miara cut Astrid off and continued. "Did you not have a war that lasted three-hundred years before even thinking about its cause?"

"We were just-"

"Did you not make Hiccup Haddock's first fifteen years of life miserable because of how his appearance?"

That point struck home.

"Did you not wait until after he ended a war to take note of him?"

None of the other Riders could find the words for retaliation. What Miara was speaking was one-hundred per cent true. And what hurt the most, was that Hiccup would have told her this. For the three years that they had tried to make amends, by what Miara was saying, Hiccup had never really forgiven them.

Miara took advantage of the silence. "If you would rather let the one man who knows how to stop this war die, be my guest. But I am not." Miara made direct eye contact with Astrid, a fire blazing within the deep black. "Go back to your island and 'get help'. But when you return here, it will be too late."

In a fraction of a second Miara thrust down on Toothless' pedal and the two rapidly descended towards the island.

"Wait!" Astrid yelled as loud as she dared. "They'll kill you!"

"Then we better go help her." Was all she caught from Snotlout's irritated voice as he dove after the darker woman.

The Twins soon followed suit, and after looking a few times from Astrid to the descending group, Fishlegs followed as well. And so, Astrid was on her own. Miara knew something about this war and wasn't saying. She knew-and possibly Hiccup as well-how to stop this war from starting. Miara had been trying to subtly tell her, but Astrid refused to listen to her. Giving Stormfly a gentle nudge, she sped to catch up with the others.

No matter how hard it would be, Astrid had to trust Miara. She had Toothless, she had knowledge of how the complicated tail worked and she carried that glimmer that everyone who spent too much time with Hiccup seemed to pick up. There was no reason for Miara to be lying, Astrid realised.

And if she was, the 'demon' was going to receive the sharp edge of Astrid's axe.


	6. When Bad Guys Fight

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 6**

 **Bad Guys Fight**

~O~

Pinching the bridge of his nose, Stoick leaned back in his chair. A fire crackled dimly in front of him. With a sigh, Stoick realised that he would have to add another log to the flame. Despite the crackle of burning wood and the peace he could find in his own home, Stoick could not feel content. He hadn't been able to for a long time.

Stoick imagined his once eight-year-old son sitting in front of the flame as he gave strict instructions on how to keep the fire alight. Of course, the boy would shoot a volley of questions ranging from why a fire could only burn so much wood at once or why it needed wood to stay alight in the first place. A pang of guilt struck Stoick as he remembered how angry he had gotten at Hiccup that night. Even though he never admitted it, Stoick was sure the boy went to sleep crying that night.

As he stared absently into the flame, Stoick continued to wonder what had happened to his son. An internal war had been waging for many years now. Half of Stoick-his more 'reasonable' side fought to admit that Hiccup was dead. It fought to prove that the Dragon Hunters had killed him. The other half, however, was certain Hiccup was alive and well. That he was somewhere with his dragon doing everything he could to come home.

Then, Stoick dwelled to how everyone else had reacted to his only son's disappearance.

Most would agree that the Dragon Riders had matured since Hiccup disappeared. Astrid had taken up more responsibilities around the village, Fishlegs had started to help his own and other families more than what he used to, the Twins prank rate was slashed and Snotlout had shown a new degree of humility. He hardly ever spoke against his superiors like he once used too.

The change was noticed by everyone on Berk. Some said that it was a good consequence of an unfortunate situation. Others believed that it was for the best. Stoick, however, only felt worse. After three months of Hiccup's disappearance-when people started to give up hope of ever seeing him again-Stoick tried to fill in the Hiccup sized hole in his chest. He took on more responsibilities that otherwise went to the other councilmen, he revised treaties and important paperwork more than what he used to, but the Rider's change made all those efforts futile.

Stoick tried to forget that his son was missing. But without everyone being in on it, he would never be able to do so.

Stoick scolded himself as he was brought back to reality. He had much more important things to worry about. The risk of an attack on Berk was growing greater every day. Much preparation was still to be done, and his five most experienced Riders had left without giving a clue of their whereabouts.

Stoick went back to think about the Dragon Riders. He wondered whether he would have done the same thing. Gobber would say he would, although following a demon seemed unlikely-even for him. A pang of worry stabbed him every day the Riders did not return. He trusted them to look after themselves, but demons were another case altogether.

Shaking his head and taking a deep breath, Stoick cleared his head. They weren't here right now so he couldn't do anything about it. All Stoick could do was pray for their safe return.

Maybe this would do them good after all, Stoick realised. After this, it might be easier to accept that his son was dead.

~O~

Jogging silently, a group of Berkians and their strange foreign company made their way through the maze of the Outcast Island underground. An anonymous water source let small drops of murky liquid fall onto the stone floor of the damp tunnels causing the group to feel sticky and uncomfortable. They had passed numerous empty and filled cells. Some contain tormented dragons while others housed sleeping Outcasts.

It took every bit of Astrid to not release them all. She looked to the other Riders, Fishlegs showed expressions of distraught as a painful dragon's scream cut through the air. The Twins carried on in an awkward silence-Astrid was convinced they were worried for their dragon. Snotlout struggled to keep pace with the long-striding Miara. While she may not be as tall as the average Viking woman, Miara's long legs made up for that.

The foreigner went in a stubborn silence. Astrid was sure that behind the paint covering her most her upper face, hundreds of ideas were whirling. It was similar to the look that Hiccup was once famous for. You could see gears spinning in Miara's eyes and the silent movement of her lips signified so many thoughts that her mind alone couldn't contain them.

"How much longer are we going to keep walking around?" Asked Tuffnut. "My legs are getting tired."

Astrid groaned. It had only been half an hour. "Until we find Hiccup."

It was strange saying the sentence aloud. While Astrid has confirmed that Hiccup had to be alive, she wasn't so sure about the other riders. Astrid apologised to the Gods over and over. She could only imagine how frustrated they must be at her constant change of mind. It was just so surreal, Astrid supposed.

"It would help if we know where he is." Grumbled Snotlout. "We're going to be found sooner or later."

Fishlegs backed up Snotlout meekly. "He does have a point, Astrid, we can't just keep walking around hoping for the best."

Astrid clenched her fist. Obviously, she was aware of that, but what else was she supposed to do. It's not like the Hunters would just give away Hiccup's location. Assuming he was even here.

"We don't have any other option." Astrid said not turning around. "We just need to keep looking."

The other Riders looked to each other before nodding. There was no point in trying to fight Astrid when she came to a decision. If you did, it ended with an axe to the head. The group once again continued in silence. They were on the lookout for an attack, possible Outcast ally, and, most importantly, they were on the lookout for Hiccup.

As the group approached an intersection, with one new hallway turning right and the other continuing forward, thunderous footsteps from around the corner made the group stop and press themselves to the cold stone walls. Miara-who was leading from the front-peered around the corner to then quickly pull back. The other Riders waited for Miara to say what she had seen. Instead, the woman bolted down the corridor in front of them.

Yells resonated from around the corner and soon a group of Dragon Hunters rushed to chase after her. As the Riders stared in a shock and irritated silence, Miara lifted her long arms and pointed right. To the Hunters struggling to keep up and a few of the Riders it was a confusing act. It wasn't until Snotlout pushed past Astrid and turned down the corridor did the Riders get the hint.

"I can't believe her." Fishlegs grumbled. "If she was going to do something like that a warning would be appreciated."

Snotlout, who was now leading, replied. "There's nothing we can do about it now. Miara led the Hunters away so we just have to work with what's happened."

Astrid could only silently nod. While she was just as annoyed as Fishlegs about the fact Miara had completely changed the little of a plan she had in mind, she hadn't expected Snotlout to be the one to just go along with it. In fact, she had expected Fishlegs to be telling Snotlout to just deal with what had happened.

"I hate to be the bringer of bad news," Ruffnut interrupted the silence that had engulfed the Riders as their pace slowed, "but has anyone realised that we have no idea where Miara has gone."

Tuffnut continued with his sister's comment. "Yer, what if she finds something. How do we contact her?"

Astrid, who had now started to trail behind the group, stopped abruptly in the middle of another intersection of corridors. The Twins did have a point. What were they supposed to do if Miara found Hiccup?

"We'll just have to get on our Dragons and then sear-" Astrid was cut off when her shoulder was grabbed from behind.

Unsheathing her axe, Astrid swung at whoever was behind her. Hearing the noise and noticing the sudden stop of Astrid talking, the others turned around as well. Eyes widening at who was behind her, a grin climbed Astrid's cheeks.

"Alvin!" She cried. "That the Gods you're okay."

"We thought the Hunters had caught you." Snotlout piped.

"Takes more than a couple of those idiots ta take me down." Alvin looked the Riders over. "Took 'ya long enough. Startin' ta think you lot hadn't gotten me letter."

"Letter?" Fishlegs asked.

A confused expression crossed the Outcast leaders face. "Then why are you…"

Each of the riders exchanged glances. None of them were certain whether to tell anyone else about their plan at the moment. All five of them knew that if Miara was lying and that Hiccup really was in Valhalla - a fact which most of them would rather not think about - that it would hurt, a lot. If they dragged another person down with them… it just wouldn't be fair.

"You're lookin' for ta Haddock boy, aren't ya'?"

Everyone froze in their running path.

"How did you…?"

"He was here." Was Alvin's simple response to Astrid's question. "Shot down a night after me island was taken over. Had this weird sandy coloured dragon with 'im. Hunters put 'im on a ship late last night."

Shocked silence was all that followed. Tears of joy and relief threatened to flow from Astrid's eyes. He was alive. Hiccup was really alive! The six years of loneliness she had experienced were coming to a close. She would be able to hear Hiccup's cheeky voice as he explained new ideas he had, watch the new stunts he performed with Toothless, and what she missed the most-his eyes. Those deep, forest green eyes that held so much feeling and emotion. While almost impossible to read, the expressions he showed were one of a kind. Some could convey happiness to anyone around him, while others set a twinkle in every eye.

Hiccup was so close. Hiccup was alive.

Snotlout was the first one to break the silence of shock. "Then let's keep going."

Without any other words, he sprinted down the corridor in hopes of finding an exit. The Riders really should have let Alvin lead-he did know these tunnels like the back of his hand-but, of course, they followed Snotlout blindly. After all, each of them were just as relieved as Snotlout. Though, looking back, it wasn't the best reason for not first thinking of a plan.

Hiccup was alive. He was somewhere nearby. They didn't know where exactly, but at least he was alive. It would only be a matter of time before their lost heir was found.

~O~

Far away from any land, on the dark abyss, the ocean had become, a silent, lonely ship sailed. No light was lit and the few visible stars in the cloudy sky above the only sense of direction those on the ship had. With only seven men manning the ship and a prisoner beneath the deck, their location was bound to be kept secret.

"What are we going to do with him?" Came Viggo's foreboding voice as he approached the man staring out at the black void of the ocean. "Why not just kill him already?"

"He's too valuable to kill." Came a voice that those on Berk would find familiar. "You know that his little demon friend will have gone to Berk."

Viggo raised an eyebrow. "How can you be so certain, Johann? You know very well how he feels about returning."

The renowned 'trader' turned towards Viggo, "You should be able to guess, the girl thinks she knows what's best. And even if she hasn't, they will eventually find their way to Berk."

"And that is why we must kill him. Even the men know there is no point in keeping him in a cell." Viggo narrowed his eyes as a Hunter yelled on cue.

"The prisoner escaped!"

"My point exactly."

Johann turned towards the ocean again. "It doesn't matter whether he is in his cell or not. Hiccup Haddock is not stupid enough to try to take on all the men on board."

Viggo growled.

"Besides, if he does manage to reprimand us, he doesn't even know where we are. He's been out cold for at least half of the day."

Viggo shot daggers through the back of Johann's head. His hatred for this man had been growing for years. At first, Johann simply took a portion of the profit Viggo made for supplying the Dragon Hunter leader with ships, supplies and men. But now, Johann had completely taken over. Krogan had already gone his own way after Johann refused to reveal the whereabouts of the King of Dragon's to his buyer.

The only reason that Viggo was still here was for three reasons.

-He knew Johann was waiting for him to leave-Viggo was stubborn and wouldn't back down easily.

-Too much of Viggo's time, money and energy had gone into leading the Hunters.

-He wanted to see Hiccup Haddock dead-Viggo was certain that the second he parted way with Johann that the man would kill Hiccup himself.

Viggo had failed several times to kill the man-something he took much worse than most. All his plans had failed. Sending him to the Amber Slavelands; Blow up a building he was staying in; Arrows; Stabbings; Poison; Nothing had worked. Johann made sure to remind him of that every day.

"You two really shouldn't be fighting like that." Came a voice from the ship's mast. "You know what happens to bad guys that fight."

Both Johann and Viggo rolled their eyes. Despite their different views on many things, they could at least agree that this man was becoming very annoying. He avoided most captures, broke out from every cell and no matter how many ropes they tied him with, in under a minute he was free.

"I was expecting you to make your grand escape a little sooner." Johann didn't turn towards the figure descending down the mast. "Or did you need a little break?"

"Honestly, I did need a little sleep. Taking a net to the head can make you a little woozy." Viggo glared at Hiccup, his unwashed hair hanging loosely on his shoulders and permanently covering the mark on his forehead.

"Well, then what do you think?" Viggo asked sarcastically-a trait he had picked up from the nuisance over the past few years. "Should we keep you alive or kill you?"

Hiccup paused for a moment before striding past the two and hoisting himself up onto the waist height railing. He looked at both irritated men. Viggo was showing his anger with fumes. His face red and fist clenched white. Johann, on the other hand, made his annoyance less obvious. He simply stared at Hiccup with a dark glare-similar to the one he used when scaring his men.

"From a strategic view," Hiccup continued acting oblivious to how the two men were reacting, "I'd kill me. You're both smart. Surely you can see that keeping me alive has just caused more problems."

"My point exactly." Viggo muttered darkly.

"But from a personal view, I don't really want to die. I'm still young, haven't finished my bucket list, got to stop this war from startin'. You guys must understand that, right?" A cheeky smirk followed.

When Hiccup received no reply he continued. "But of course, I could always let you kill me. You'd then just have to face the wrath of Miara, possibly lose any chance of finding those lenses you need for the Dragon Eye-I'd love to know where that is by the way-then have to explain to Berk exactly what happened, because as you mentioned earlier-" Hiccup pointed at Johann, "-we are pretty close."

"Enough." Hiccup was hardly fazed by Johann's sudden snap.

"Take him back to his cell." He called one of his men. "And do us all a favour and knock him out."

Without complaint, Hiccup pushed himself off the railing and walked down the stairs to the underdeck. Meanwhile, Johann pinched the bridge of his nose while Viggo walked away smugly-he was happy that Hiccup had gotten to Johann like that. The man really deserved it.

"I really should kill him." The 'trader' muttered.

Staring out towards the dark moon-deprived sky, Johann continued to scheme. His plans had been failing almost a hard as Viggo's-just more subtly. The man kept slipping through his fingers and it wouldn't be long until the Demon came looking for him.

"Because if I don't," Johann continued talking to himself. "he is going to be the death of me."


	7. Repercussions

**Shoutouts:**

 **Massive HTTYD Fan (From Chapter 3): I can understand why you would see Viggo as OOC and I was honestly hoping that someone would bring that out. I won't spoil it now, but I do have reasons for Viggo using the Slavemark and wanting to kill Hiccup so much. But, that will be explained a little later.**

 **Quotatic(Guest) (From Chapter 3): Thanks!**

 **JChttyd (From Chapter 4): Thanks! I really appreciate it, sorry to keep you waiting.**

 **Guest1 (From Chapter 5): He sure is. It still cracks my friend and I up whenever we read over the last scene.**

 **JChttyd (From Chapter 5): Yer, it can see that last scene being a little confusing, but don't worry! All will be made clear very soon.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 7**

 **Repercussions**

~O~

With shivers running down her spine, Miara made her way through the unfamiliar caverns of the underground Outcast Island. She was on her way to meet the only man she knew who was stupid enough to infiltrate the Hunter's under the cover of a role he was not prepared to play.

His name was Kivu. The man was a dear friend of hers - as was his wife and two children. Hiccup and herself had met the man about a month after Hiccup had been captured in the Amber Slavelands. It was due to Kivu that Miara and Hiccup were still alive. If he hadn't been there to help them they both would have been wiped out by the plague that swept the Slavelands in towering waves.

And - while she would always consider Hiccup as her brother over Kivu - Miara had a special connection with Kivu. He was the only other one in their group who understood what it was like to be seen as a demon. Surviving through the torment of being 'crossbred', had helped Miara herself push through the deep cutting insults that were inflicted most days.

Taking one last right turn, Miara found herself facing a large wooden door. After checking behind her to see if anyone was following, she knocked.

Knock. Wait. Knock. Wait. Knock. Knock.

The silence stung Miara as she started to fear that she had followed the directions wrong and had knocked on the wrong door. Fear itched her insides as loud footsteps echoed from behind the timber. Maybe this was wrong. Maybe she should run before someone caught her.

"Ceojeko xizashu." Came the muffled masculine voice from behind the door. _A bird will not fly…_

A sigh of relief released all the tension in Miara. She really needed to stop stressing about these things.

"Haxiye muyetavuko vufosoxe be." Miara finished the saying quietly. _…if its wings have been clipped._

Again, silence followed. Then, slowly - in a pathetic attempt at remaining quiet - the locks started to click. One click, another, another. Miara shifted her weight from foot to foot in anticipation. At any point could a hunter come down the corridor. She looked left and right, if Kivu didn't hurry up she would be caught and then the years' worth of planning would go to waste.

Then, just as distance clicks of footsteps reached Miara's ears, the door swung slightly inwards and Miara slipped inside.

"Pukihi fodisohafo zu?" _No light?_ She questioned when greeted by blackness.

"Cekiije." _Sorry._ Miara looked up at the armoured man in front of her. "Mujetavuko." _I was asleep._

Miara raised an eyebrow as a candle was lit and filled the room with dim light. She looked the man over, his tall form covered from the collar down in heavy iron. A helmet was held in his hand - one that he used to cover his 'demon-like' features.

"Mujetavuko ne haso zu?" _Did you sleep in that?_

"Jece." _Yes._

Miara rolled her eyes.

Once the door was once again closed and locked, Kivu edged closer to Miara. His stature towered over her own - something that once made her stomach drop - but by this point, the Katalian had become accustomed to it. However - she did swallow when a severe case of annoyance radiated down to her.

"You're a day late."

"I am." Miara admitted. "I was… busy."

"You went to Berk, didn't you?"

"Jece be." _Yes._

"Bakihi midvurisekohaki." _We agreed not to go there._

"Cemuyehako Xe'unxe cepuone be." _Xe'un needs to be with his own people._

"Guozatavuko ne zu?" _Did they believe you?_

"Jetahi ne be." _They are here._

Had there been the time Miara would have been lectured at this point. Told that going against the plan could cost them. That she was wasting time travelling a day to find people who didn't have a place in their plan. Kivu would tell her that these things need to be discussed as a group. But, there wasn't time.

Instead, Kivu walked towards the bed he had been earlier resting in and pulled a thick notebook from under the pillow.

"This is everything I've been able to find." Miara ran her finger along the worn leather when it was passed to her. "Ship and weapon designs, some of the Hunters new personnel, and I was even able to get some more information on how the Hunters are going to attack."

"Anything urgent?"

"Xe'un is on Berserker Island. Many of Berk's allies have been taken over and they sent fake responses to the request for help that was sent after Berk received a declaration of war. Xe'un and Kink were shipped to Berserker Island in hopes of throwing us for a day or two."

Miara nodded.

"And there is a map of these caverns in the front." Kivu pointed at the book. "You might need it to get out of here."

"Thank you."

Kivu blew out his candle as Miara unlocked and slipped through the door again.

 _Don't go dying on us._ Kivu listened as Miara's footsteps got quieter and quieter.

~O~

"Well, this was stupid." Snotlout deadpanned as the Riders came to another intersection in amongst the Outcast Island cave system.

For about half an hour now the Riders had been trying to navigate their way back out into open air.

They had been split up from Alvin when the group had decided that running around recklessly was a good idea. Well, decide was an understatement - it was more of an idea that they all acted on in the spur of the moment.

"I still find it hard to believe that every single one of us thought it would be a good idea to completely abandon Alvin." Fishlegs said hands on his knees as he caught back his breath. "I mean, if we had stayed with him, we would be out of here by now."

"It was a pretty stupid idea," the group spun around to find themselves facing an approaching Miara, "and that is saying a great deal when it comes from me."

"Where in Thor's name have you been?" Snotlout asked a bit too loudly. "As far as we were concerned, you had been captured!"

Astrid spoke before Miara could defend herself. "Will you be quiet? It's bad enough that at any time we could be spotted. We don't need you screaming."

As Miara opened her mouth to speak, Ruffnut added to Astrid's comment. "You may as well just yell: 'Hey, Dragon Hunter's, we're over here come! Come find us!"

"Now my dear sister, that seems very counterproductive."

"That's not even a word." Snotlout said.

"Like you would know."

All the while, Miara stood with slumped shoulders and a deadpanning face. Were all Vikings like this? She understood that friends fought over very silly things - she had been the cause for many useless arguments - but was now really the time?

"Counterproductive:" Came Ruffnut's 'as a matter of fact' voice. "The act of having the opposite of the desired effect."

"You just made that up."

After pinching the bridge of her nose, Miara took a deep breath, composed herself, and stormed forwards pushing the arguing Twins and Snotlout apart.

"If you want to fight over a word, that is fine, but do not do so when we could be captured at any time." When the fighting trio went silent Miara continued. "Come on, a friend of mine said that they sent Hiccup to Berserker Island. Apparently, the Outcasts isn't the only one of your allies that has been taken over."

Satisfied that her point had been put across, Miara started walking straight ahead.

"Wait. Where are you going?" Astrid called after her.

Raising a piece of parchment with what looked to be a map of the cave system into the air, Miara called back. "Everyone thinking you are a demon can have benefits."

Fishlegs and Astrid exchanged glances quickly and then followed Miara, the Twins and Snotlout followed suit.

Astrid stared at the back of Miara. How did she get that map? If she and Hiccup had been attacked, surely the Hunter's knew that she wasn't a demon. Or, that's what she had claimed. And who was this friend? Did she mean someone who had infiltrated the Hunter ranks? That couldn't be, Viggo and Krogan were way too smart for that, right?

So many things were going unanswered, and Astrid didn't like that. She was fine with following a plan that made sense, even if it was from someone she was still learning to trust, but she at least needed to know what the end goal was. And from the way Miara was acting, that wasn't information she was going to get any time soon.

Shaking her head, Astrid focused on the road ahead. When they were back up in the air she would ask Miara. Besides, if the foreigner was so intent on working with them, there should be no problem sharing the plan.

Right?

~O~

 _Hiccup was roused from a restless sleep once again by the sound of a yelling crew member bringing around the days' worth of food._

 _He sat up hugging his knees and leaning against the far wall of the cell as a loaf of bread and one water canteen was thrown into the cell. He had once thought that was a pitiful amount to supply prisoners. But, as the past two weeks had stretched on, he soon learned that to complain only left the next day with nothing at all._

 _Hiccup wasn't sure how long it had been since he had seen daylight. The privilege of being allowed to stand out on deck - even if it was to do chores - had been confiscated when the ship had docked to pick up more 'passengers' - as the captain liked to call them. He had taken advantage of his unbound wrist and jumped into the water. After several minutes of agonising swimming, he made it to shore and ran._

 _For someone who had eaten nothing but a loaf of bread a day for a week, he got considerably far. He had made his way through the town that he couldn't bother find a name for in hopes of finding a dragon to train. However, his plan was cut short when he been hit in the head with a brick and sent unconscious. He could still feel the lingering effects of a concussion._

 _Since then, he had woken in a cell that he could touch both walls by standing in the middle, and there he had stayed. His legs ached from lack of movement, and the increasing heat of travelling south made him sweaty and uncomfortable. He didn't know where he was and he doubted the Riders did either._

 _Hiccup found himself once again dosing into an uneasy sleep. He was only shaken from it when the helpless cries of a young woman came from above. She was causing quite the commotion - much more than what he had heard anyone else on this ship put up. The sound of things falling onto the wood above - whether they were objects or people Hiccup couldn't decide - got softer to only get louder again as the woman was bought underdeck._

 _It stabbed Hiccup so many times to hear someone so desperate. For his whole life, Hiccup had been told that only those who had committed crimes so heinous that even death was too merciful received the Slavemark. But he was wrong. So very much wrong._

 _Hiccup had witnessed children thrown into cells. He had heard the terrified cries of some of the women down the far end of the ship as some of the crew stripped her and took away the one thing that could secure a woman a family in the Viking society. It made him sick that such a thing happened and no one knew._

 _The woman's cries - which Hiccup had previously thought to be muffled by the timber above - now showed evidence of being in a tongue that he didn't recognise. And, as the woman and men handling her came into view, the reason became obvious._

 _For a brief moment the two locked eyes. One - a pure green - was filled with instant terror, and the other - a deep abyss black - displayed sorrow and a sheer helplessness. Hiccup started shaking as he examined the rest of the woman. She wore thin furs that only covered her from her shoulders to her knees, which, in turn, showcased the deep brown of her skin._

 _Demon. Hiccup's mind whispered._

 _What were these men thinking to bring a demon onto the ship? Hiccup could deal with deadly, fire-breathing dragons, he would get over the confinement of his cell, but he could not handle the pure evil of a demon spirit. They cursed people, controlled them, and made others see things that didn't exist. So why, in anyone's right mind, would they capture and allow a demon onto the ship. It would kill them all!_

 _One of the guards who had been handling the other-worldly lifeform noticed Hiccup's fear and gestured towards him. His partner smirked and led the demon towards his cell. While one held the struggling 'woman', the other man stepped forward and unlocked the cell door._

 _Hiccup knew what was going to happen._

 _He pressed himself against the furthest wall as the demon was thrown inside and the cell door locked. Not sparing a moment, the stranger pushed herself up and starting banging and pulling and pushing on the cell door while screaming words of abuse which no one understood._

 _Hiccup sat as far away as he could wishing it where possible to disappear through the wall. And then, after a few minutes of trying to force her way through, the demon gave up. She sank to the ground, and much like Hiccup, pulled her knees to her chest. Then - to the Berkian's utmost belief - she started to weep._


	8. Spring Is Supposed To Be Fun

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 8**

 **Spring Is Supposed to be Fun**

~O~

The sound of soft rain in the early Spring would usually be a celebrated event. It signalled the end of the harsh Winter and marked the beginning of a time of plentiful harvest and growing herds of livestock. Of course, it wouldn't last forever, but all Viking tribes would spend celebration upon celebration thanking the Gods for their survival.

This year, however, there would be no such celebration. Dagur was even beginning to doubt if there would even be a tribe to partake in the celebration at all. The Berserker Chief took another glance around the large tent that he and about a dozen other men and woman had been imprisoned too. Many were still mourning the easy loss. The Dragon Hunter's had used the fog of the early hours of the morning to launch an attack. And, even though they had received very little warning, many of Berserkers felt the outcome would have been different had they not been so ill-prepared.

Dagur and the Berserker Council had taken most of the blame upon themselves. From an outsiders point of view, the tribe being weak after a devastating cold killing many elders and young children in their sleep would be anybody but the Chief and Council's fault. Wild Dragon's being so starved to the point of stealing Yak's and Boars could only have been bad luck. However, a Viking held his honour in a high regard, and part of a Chief's honour was taking responsibility for any ill event that had taken place among or against his people. Even if he could have done nothing to prevent such an occurrence.

Yet, despite this slash to his pride, Dagur did not give up - Viking's rarely did, they had stubbornness issues after all. He continued to plan a way to take back his island from the Hunter's. However, he was quickly running dry. Any idea he had was quickly dismissed as he ran each and every scenario through his head. And himself and Heather had been split up, which didn't help his thought process.

Dagur wasn't an idiot. He was a capable man. But still, he needed someone to bounce his idea's off. He needed someone who could push him to find another way around a problem instead of starting a whole new plan. Dagur wasn't an idiot. He just preferred bashing things over the head with an axe over coming up with ideas.

He admired the people who could come up with flawless plans almost instantly and then carry it out without issue. Those people seemed to be scarce in the archipelago. The only two most notable ones would be Heather - his sister - and Hiccup - his brother.

The mixed feeling of guilt and anger rose in Dagur's gut as he thought of the missing Berkian heir. It had been six years, but still, it hurt to think about the man who had so drastically changed his life. Hiccup had introduced him to the beauty of dragons, accepted him for trying to change, and eventually playing a major role in reuniting him with his sister. When Hiccup had first disappeared, the whole archipelago had taken a blow. While it was never openly discussed in front of him, everyone owed their lives to Hiccup. He had tamed a dragon and defeated the beast which would eventually have killed them all.

Everyone had pitched in on the search when several months had past and there was still no sign of Hiccup's whereabouts. But slowly, people started giving up on ever finding him again. And a year later, the large searches stopped altogether. The one after that, the majority had accepted his death. Guilt had plagued Dagur for months when people started to openly voice their opinion on whether Hiccup was alive or not. Even though he had a tribe to look after, Dagur felt that if he had searched just a little bit harder, then maybe, just maybe, Hiccup would be with them today. And, maybe he could help stop the enemy that seemed to keep growing.

Oh, how fate could be so poetic.

Since Hiccup's disappearance, Hunter activity increased. It wasn't noticeable at first, but with everyone so busy on trying to locate the Berkian heir, the Dragon Hunter's took advantage of the situation and captured many dragons. The breeding grounds which the Riders had been trying to protect on the day of Hiccup's capture had been destroyed that Snoggletog and many uninhabited islands wiped of their dragon population. Yet again, the whole archipelago took a blow.

Dagur cleared his mind of those thoughts. He didn't have time to think about such things. He needed to save his island first.

~O~

In all his experience from waking from concussions, Hiccup could agree that loud sounds did not make the process any more enjoyable than what it already was. From his point of view, it sounded like boulders were raining from the sky, when, in reality, it was only the rain smacking against the roof of the dragon skin tent.

After a few moments, the floor stopped spinning, the world no longer looked distorted, and Hiccup could start to make out where he was. The first thing he noticed was the manacles that changed him to a wooden post at the wrist and ankle. A large desk with several piles of paperwork stacked erratically to the back of the tent gave Hiccup the hint that this was either Viggo's or Johann's office. Though, it only appeared temporary as the floor was dirt - now a semi-muddy plain - meaning that this wasn't Dragon Hunter island or any of the other outpost.

Facing towards him was the tent entrance - a flap that hadn't been tied back. It blew in the breeze giving Hiccup several snapshots of the outside world. It was hard to see amongst the rain - even as light as it was - in the dark, but at least two other tents in the opposite direction had been set, each heavily guarded. There was no clear answer as to who was occupying the tent, but Hiccup could guess that it was either the Dragon Hunter's having a meeting, or whoever inhabited this island had not gone down without a fight.

Escaping through the entrance had been ruled out, and he didn't know what else was around so escaping unnoticed was highly unlikely. Besides, he still needed to escape the manacles before any escape attempt was possible. And Hiccup wasn't the best at escaping from pieces of iron holding you in place. Ropes he could do, iron on a chain… not so much.

It wasn't long though before the entrance flap was pushed aside and two Hunter guards strolled into the tent. The two approached with one reaching down to unlock the chains while another through a dark coloured cloak at Hiccup. With blood once again circulating through all remaining limbs, Hiccup picked up the cloak and looked up questioningly at the guards. He knew it was his cloak - it had been a gift from someone he would never forget - but why it had been returned was a bit of a mystery. Most were aware that the dark colour and ankle-length material helped him blend into the night, it was designed to help its wearer stay hidden. It seemed counterproductive to give him something that would inevitably help him escape undetected.

"We're just following orders." One man replied gruffly. He also saw the flaw in returning the item.

Standing up, Hiccup slipped his arms through the thick sleeves. He reached into a pocket on the inside and pulled out a small silver pin of his Night Fury insignia. Bringing the sides together, he slipped the pin through a small hole form the front and a little disk from the back. The pin would act as a top button.

"You're not tying my hands?" Hiccup asked when he saw no device of such.

"It would be a waste of rope."

"And we're not supposed to give you any weapons."

They were both valid points, Hiccup noted.

Tying up the last three buttons, Hiccup pulled the thick hood which had been resting on his shoulders over his head. That way he wouldn't give anyone any idea on when he planned to escape.

Roughly, he was pushed out of the tent. Outside, many people were being lined up, each tied to each other with thick rope at the wrists. Hiccup assumed he was going wherever they did. However, his focus drifted from the people to the landscape around.

It took a few moments, but Hiccup soon recognised the mountainous island he was on. It was one he had visited many, many times when he was younger, and one he was sure to never forget.

Berserker Island.


	9. Now We Have To Help

**Shoutouts:**

 **CzarnyKot356: It's great to know you're enjoying my writing! And don't get caught reading during class. Remember, school is very beneficial'.**

 **JChttyd: Believe it or not, the fact that they are so close yet so far also really annoys me. Why does pacing need to be a thing? Thanks for your comment!**

 **Massive HTTYD Fan: Sorry if I confused you. Hopefully, this chapter will clear up. And I'm really sorry for leaving you hanging for so long. It wasn't exactly fair.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 9**

~O~

Emotions had always confused Hiccup. Maybe it was because he was raised in a society where emotion was seen as weak. Maybe, it was due to the years of emotional trauma that caused an inability to differentiate them. Or, perhaps, the savage feelings just hit him at the wrong time.

The latter seemed likely, Hiccup decided, as he was led down the slope towards the group of people that had been assembled.

There was anger for being stupid enough to land in this situation, worry for how everyone around would react should they realise his identity, and fear, fear for that everything would go wrong.

With a shove, Hiccup was forced into the crowd. From beneath the hood, he could vaguely recognise some faces - faces he hadn't seen in years. They consisted of the Berserker Council, some fishermen who had often visited Berk, and as he scanned the crowd, the Chief - Dagur.

Dagur was different, yet, also the same. His fiery hair was longer, tied back into a long, thick braid that reached his shoulders. His physical build didn't have any major changes - it only appeared that he had grown about an inch or two taller - but his clothing was more of what would be expected from a chief. A thick, heavy belt wound his waist, and the two silver pauldrons on his shoulder no doubt had the Berserker insignia inscribed.

A calculating expression was plastered to his face as he scanned the crowd - no doubt seeing how many of his people were missing - and it came as a slight surprise for Hiccup. The Dagur he remembered was more of a 'hit over the head with a bludgeon, ask questions later' type of man. But then that had been six years ago, Dagur had no doubt matured and learnt a lot with his status as chief.

A brisk movement was caught in Hiccup's peripheral. He turned his eyes towards the left hand of the crowd where he saw a young girl talking to a group of Hunters. He couldn't see her face, but the long, curly, fiery hair confirmed her identity. Kira. A slight moment of panic struck Hiccup as the girl continue to communicate with the Hunters, but since no one was harming or trying to capture her, Hiccup assumed that she had formed some cover. And, if Kira was here then her brother wouldn't be far off - probably hiding in the shadows somewhere.

He saw her point at him and the Hunter's scowled obviously disagreeing with what she had told them. Kira folded her arms and said something inaudible. Whatever it was, the Hunter's expression softened. Hiccup's attention was brought from the girl back to the crowd.

"How come he isn't tied up?" An anonymous voice called from within the crowd.

Hiccup, despite most of his vision blocked due to the hood he wore, felt many eyes bore into his back. A few moments past and Hiccup expectantly waited for one of the many guards to reply, but when none did Hiccup sighed.

"I'm a special case." He replied back with a role of the eye.

He seemed to be asked this question every time he was captured - which was becoming almost a weekly occurrence by this point.

The answer caused Dagur to look his way. For a moment, the two made eye contact -though Hiccup doubted Dagur could actually see his eyes. It was amusing to watch Dagur survey who he viewed as a stranger. Dagur obviously felt something was familiar about him and Hiccup wondered how long it would take for Dagur to figure out who he was. Hopefully, he would be off this island when he did.

Hiccup had enough to deal with. And people knowing he was alive was not on his agenda right now.

He wondered if people even cared. Other people knew how to train dragons now, so what purpose did he have? They had probably only looked for him for a few weeks. After that, they would declare him dead and move on. Stoick and Astrid may have mourned a little, but they would both quickly have gotten over it. Hiccup wanted to believe he was missed - he really did - but the reality was that the only reason anyone even acknowledged his existence was due to his ability to train dragons. No one had any reason to miss a runt.

Besides, the people he now called family may not care about the mark on his head, but the inhabitants of the Archipelago certainly would. And he was not going to be thrown back into the horrible world of slave trade.

Hiccup left his thoughts as the crowd started to move. He wondered how the Hunters planned to kill this many people. Perhaps they behead each one individually, or they may simply shot aimlessly into the crowd. Either way, Hiccup wasn't about to allow this many people to die. How he was going to go about helping, he wasn't quite sure yet.

~O~

A scream of rage rang from the dragon skin tent.

"What do you mean you put him with the others?" Viggo scowled as he held a knife to a Hunter's throat.

The man exclaimed in reply, edging his neck backwards in hope of avoiding the sharp blade. "A-a girl told us to. She-she said you-you sent her."

"A girl?" Viggo took a deep breath to calm his anger. "Please describe this child to me."

The man hesitated. Though Viggo's voice was quieter, angered breathing was still present. "Long red hair, green eyes. Probably only in her early teenage years."

Viggo was silent. He closed his eyes and took another deep breath. He was doing his best to calm his anger, but as the Hunter's had learnt over the past 4 years, when Hiccup Haddock was involved it was a struggle for him.

No one could really blame Viggo. He had tried for years to rid the world of him and his little 'family'. Yet, despite every attempt, he always, always, escaped. The Dragon Hunter leader seemed to simply snap one night. It was the night that an auction, as well as fifty ships, had been destroyed. Not only had it taken a hit to Viggo's wealth, but to his reputation too. Since that day, Viggo had been set on killing Hiccup. Johann, however, had different plans.

No one knew why exactly. All they knew that Johann simply wanted to capture Hiccup, beat him, break him, and hand him over to Krogan's buyer. Apparently, the mysterious man was interested in a man who could control dragons. Some had claimed the man to not even exist, though Johann had never commented.

And now here they were. Viggo ready to kill a man, and the man in question trying to think of a way out of it.

Viggo found his voice. "And did you maybe not consider that it was one of Maruva's children?"

"N-no. They're only children. T-they could never get past all the guards without anyone noticing."

The loud sound of flesh on flesh echoed throughout the tent. The man brought his hand to his cheek, a large red mark more than likely visible.

"Those two have practically been raised by Hiccup Haddock! Do you not think that either of them would have picked something up?"

The man didn't answer.

There was a pause for a moment. Viggo knew that what man had done was stupid, yet, he personally was not to blame. Many people in this part of the world had red hair and green eyes and it wasn't uncommon for some of his men to have their children send messages for them. Hiccup's little group had made sure that all the children that accompanied them stay clear of the battlefield - it was unlikely that many of his men had even seen the girl close up. The logical part - a part he was struggling to keep referring to - knew it was a simple mistake. He could not kill this man because of what happened. Should word spread, the little trust his men had for him right now would vanish.

"Go get him."

"Sir?"

"Find Hiccup Haddock, get him out of that crowd, and bring him here. Now!"

The man nodded and disappeared out into the rainy dusk.

~O~

 _It was strange watching a creature which was said to be immortal shed tears._

 _With short breaths, Hiccup sat with his back pressed against the outmost wall. He was scared - no, terrified. There were three times a Viking could show fear - when a loved one faced death when the Gods cursed them, and when facing an otherworldly creature. The latter seemed to describe his situation very well. Yet, something wasn't right. This thing, this demon, was crying. And for what? It could have destroyed this whole ship with the snap of the fingers. Yet it didn't._

 _It was strange. And Hiccup couldn't help but slowly edge forward. He outstretched his arm. His fingers only millimetres away from the demon's skin. He stopped. What was he doing? This thing was going to kill him should he touch it!_

 _The weeping also stopped. A pair of dark, tear-stained eyes left the view of the demon's arm and looked up at Hiccup. It pushed back against the barred door as Hiccup rapidly pulled back his hand. It appeared that it only just realised that it wasn't alone._

 _They were both silent for a long moment. The demon wiped its eyes, rubbing them furiously. Then it stopped. It tilted it's head slightly staring intently at Hiccup. That was when Hiccup decided that it was going to kill him. However, the demon started to crawl towards him. And, before Hiccup could do anything, it had pushed away from the hair covering his forehead._

 _Delicate fingers grazed the mark. An expression of sudden understanding crossing the demon's face. With no words spoken, the demon slowly lifted the sleeves away from its shoulder showcasing the same purple-blue mark on._

 _With nothing else, it retr_ _eated to the other side of the cell._


	10. Great, Just Great

**You know those time when you just want to take your wifi box, modem thing, and just _throw it at a wall_.**

 **And you know why? Because I actually posted a chapter last week!**

 **And then, after a bucket tone of editing I come back and realise that the chapter didn't post. Looking back, I've come to the conclusion that because last Monday night the wifi kept dropping out that my laptop must have lost connection _as I posted_. And it really annoys me that I only realised now.**

 **So, I'm going to post two chapters now to make up for last week. The next chapter may come out a bit later though, as it is currently 1am and I'm just rewriting a scene I wasn't too happy with.**

 **Now I'm going to go find something to punch.**

 **Shoutouts:**

 **Massive HTTYD Fan: I cannot begin to express how happy your comment made me. I really appreciate your small analysis on Dagur and Viggo. It helped me know that the ideas I have in my head are being portrayed in my writing correctly. I also really enjoy that you like the flashbacks I've been writing. When I first began drafting this I wasn't sure if I should or not. But I came to the conclusion that I couldn't give the Hiccup and Miara the relationship they have without explaining it. I'm glad to know I made the right choice. Once, again thank you so much for your comment.**

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 10**

 **Great, Just Great**

~O~

 _It was the creak of a ship coming to a sudden halt that jolted Hiccup awake. He had felt and heard the horrible sound many times when he would travel the Archipelago with his father long before peace was made with the Dragons. The grinding of wood on stone caused Hiccup to cringe and it was a wonder that the rocks beneath the ocean's surface hadn't pierced the ship entirely._

 _It wasn't long before the scuffle of men flooding into the lower decks resounded in thunderous tones. Crated were lifted, cell doors opened, prisoners cuffed, and before Hiccup could fully wake himself up, they were on deck._

 _The light blinded Hiccup momentarily. It had been at least three weeks since he had seen sunlight and right now he was starting to regret ever missing the harsh rays of crimson gold. It could be worse, he mused, it was either early dawn or late dusk so he should be grateful he wasn't greeted by the midday swords of sunlight. It was only once his eyes adjusted that Hiccup got a first look at what could become his final resting place._

 _Great sandstone walls lined a long, narrow shore. To the north, the orange sand extended until the eye could see no more. To the south, the beach remained level for several hundred metres before suddenly, rapidly, forming into a steep, smooth cliff face. And, to the east, basked in a golden glow of sun, lay Darkheart Prison. Hearing the of this place from when he was younger had sent shivers down his spine. But now, now he was facing it and for the first time in a very, very long time, Hiccup's eyes shone wide with fear._

 _Despite all this, Hiccup kept walking._

 _Left, right, left, right._

 _Hiccup focussed on his breathing as he was led off the ship and onto a painfully unsteady dock. He swayed a little, having forgotten what it was like to stand on solid ground, yet maintained his composure. He would not lose his cool now. All he had to do was find a way to get off this beach. Once he did he could find a dragon, train it, and get out of here. His sporadic planning, however, was interrupted when his left arm was lightly tapped._

 _Looking up at the source, Hiccup instinctively took a step back. It was the demon._

 _Hiccup realised that this was the first time he had actually fully evaluated the other-worldly creature. She - assuming demons even had genders - was very small in stature - she stood at least a head and a half below his own height. Her hair was strange and came in a look that he had never seen before. Hiccup knew many people with tight curls in their hair but never had he seen them quite like this. The black somehow darker than the demon's skin naturally formed in tight bunches that almost resembled a sheep's wool. He felt a desire to touch the hair, but fearing it was some sort of spell to lure him into danger, he pushed the thought away._

 _No words had been exchanged between the two over the past week - though he doubted he would even understand her foreign tongue. And even though a silent, mutual agreement to not harm each other had been passed, Hiccup's mind still screamed 'run' whenever he locked eye contact. Unlike the other times though, the demon wasn't fazed by his reaction. Instead, it simply motioned it's head southwards and pointed a finger upwards._

 _Taking another look in the direction, Hiccup's eyes met something that he had completely missed earlier during his initial take in of the area. Dotted along the smooth cliff face were hundreds of small caves. He could hide there until the coast was clear and then continue his way upwards, into the forest above and then disappear. He would never even have to see the inside of the prison. He could go home._

 _The demon seemed to have similar plans as well. With a rapid movement his hand was pulled and before he could protest the demon led him out of the crowd. By the time the guards had noticed, the two were at least a quarter way down the beach._

 _It wasn't that further. Soon he'd be free._

 _A hundred metres._

 _Eighty metres._

 _Fifty metres._

 _Twenty metres._

 _Hiccup could almost touch the stone wall when a sharp pain exploded in the back of his head. He fell forward, crashing to the ground. The last thing Hiccup remembered as unconsciousness claimed him was that he hadn't even thought of how he was going to climb the smooth, seamless cliff._

~O~

Astrid struggled to maintain wakefulness as herself and the other Riders continued to fly late into the early hours of the morning. It was crazy to think that what felt had happened in a few short hours had taken place over three days. Astrid had come to the conclusion that time had flown by because all she could think of was Hiccup. She was _this_ close to finally seeing him again - and that thought couldn't bring any greater joy.

But of course, a part of her mind still reminded her that Berk was on the verge of war and, even if it was for Hiccup, that there wasn't time to be gallivanting around the Archipelago. She could only imagine Stoick's fury right now. The Riders were going to be in so much trouble once they returned. But, assuming that Hiccup accompanied them, maybe Stoick's anger could be forgotten - even if only for a short amount of time.

Astrid had been so caught up in her thoughts that she hadn't noticed Miara steer Toothless towards Stormfly until the two had glided overhead and gently lowered until they levelled to be in line with Stormfly. Astrid looked at Miara quizzically as the young woman sighed deeply and lowered her head. It took a moment for Miara to find her voice.

"I am sorry."

Astrid was taken aback slightly. What had Miara done that she felt the need to apologise?

Sensing the unvoiced question, the woman continued. "For what I had said to you before. About Xe- Hiccup a-and how you had treated him."

The whole time Miara refused to make eye contact with Astrid. What she had said was uncalled for and out of anger. It was not her place to say what she had said - no matter how strongly she felt about it. If her brother wished for these people to know how he felt, then he should be the one to say so. Miara had broken a sacred Katalian law by saying what she said.

If a man has hate towards another, a third shall not deliver the message.

The lesson was one she had been taught at a very young age. And, no matter how far she had strayed from Katalian tradition by this point in her life, guilt still struck when she went against the principles that had ruled her life since she was young.

"I hope that you can forgive my error."

Astrid didn't answer for a short time. She didn't know how to. What Miara had said the day previous had been true. Everything from the way the Viking culture treated things they didn't understand to the utter Hel they had made Hiccup's life when he was younger was true. Miara didn't need to apologise. If she was in Miara's place, Astrid wouldn't have.

Yet, the sincerity pushed Astrid's questioning thoughts to rest.

"It's fine Miara," Astrid said with a small smile. "Besides, I should be apologising. I wasn't listening to you, after all, you had done was try to help us find Hiccup. I shouldn't have been so distrustful."

Miara's head rose and she smiled. Astrid had forgiven her and even admitting to finally trusting her - or at the very least on the road towards it. Hopefully, with the start of a good relationship between herself and the Dragon Riders, Xe'un wouldn't kill her when he discovered she had gone to Berk.

Despite all his protest of claiming that they 'don't know how the Berkians will react to your appearance' or 'someone could hurt you', Miara knew the real reasons for Xe'un not wanting to return to the place he grew up. And, she really didn't want the Berkians to find out the hard way.

The tranquil understanding that had passed between the two women was interrupted by Snotlout.

"Guys. We're here."

~O~

Back on Berserker Island, Hiccup was deep in his planning.

After running through various scenarios Hiccup had come down to two options.

Run and get away from the island as quick as possible

Or

Reveal himself to the Hunter's just as they are about to kill everyone and hope for the best

Both plans had their pros and cons.

If he ran, Hiccup could meet up with Miara and they could carry on with the plan. Hopefully, Kivu would have gathered some more information by this point that they could take back to Katala and finalise the details before launching an attack. The Berserkers may die though, and despite what his reputation may say about him, Hiccup didn't want any more innocent people to die because of him.

On the other hand, if he revealed himself to the Hunters he risked compromising the entire plan. He may be able to keep the Berserkers alive, but for how long? If Johann and Viggo found out that he had made contact with the tribes of the Archipelago then they would no doubt spill all the details of what had happened over the past six years. Hiccup was certain that if the Vikings were informed of the mark on his forehead he would be thrown back into the Slavelands - and Hiccup doubted he would be able to escape once again.

However, before Hiccup could come to a decision, a Dragon Hunter yelled out to the crowd.

It was only now Hiccup noticed that the group had stopped moving. They had reached the edge of one of the many cliffs on Berserker Island and it was by this point that Hiccup was starting to piece together how the Hunter's planned to get rid of the Berserkers.

"All of you quiet down!"

Immediately the large group silenced, though the angered faces screamed anything but submission.

Slowly, Hiccup pushed his way through the crowd trying to get a better view of what was happening. And he arrived just in time to see an all too familiar face - Heather.

The woman had hardly changed at all since he had last seen her. Besides a possible change in height, and wearing her hair in a low bun, she looked exactly the same. Of course, it wasn't a joyous occasion as she was held with a sword to her throat. Hiccup's attention, though, was brought away from a voice he hadn't heard in quite some time.

"People of Berserker Island! Listen here or my men will kill the girl!"

Krogan.

How he was alive, Hiccup didn't know. He was sure the man had died. But then again, he could say the same for Viggo and Johann.

"I am not here to kill you all, yet." The man stood at the front of the crowd yet far enough away to stay out of reach. "I come with a proposition. And should you agree to the terms my men and I will leave without a fight."

"And what is this proposition of yours?" Came a voice from Hiccup's left - Dagur.

Krogan was silent for a moment as a sly smirk crept up his face. "All I ask is that you surrender Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third to me at once."

Murmurs immediately rippled through the crowd. Hiccup, however, could only slump his shoulders.

 _Great, just great._


	11. Now or Never

~O~

 **Forced Return**

 **Chapter 11**

 **Now or Never**

~O~

"All I ask, is that you surrender Hiccup Horrendous Haddock the Third to me at once."

Murmurs rippled through the crowd and a few snickers could even be heard. Most of the Berserkers thought that this man had gone man. Everyone knew that Hiccup Haddock had been dead for six years.

Krogan tapped his foot impatiently on the stone ground, his face contorting in frustration. "I know he is here! Show yourself or I won't hesitate to kill this woman."

From the corner of his eye, Hiccup watched as Dagur tried to push his way towards his sister. The Dragon Hunter guards, however, held him back.

"You touch a single hair on her head and I'll kill you Krogan!" Screeched the Berserker chief. It appeared that even though Dagur had obviously matured, fragments of his 'derangedness' still remained.

Despite all the commotion, Hiccup didn't move. He couldn't. What would happen when he did so? It was impossible to determine how the Berserkers would react. When Miara had returned to Katala her family had responded with pure happiness. When Maruva returned to her old home her family had reacted with anger for leaving in the first place.

As far as Hiccup was concerned, the inhabitants of the Archipelago only looked for him so that he could stop the ever-growing threat of the Dragon Hunters. Now that the group had become near unstoppable, the Berserkers may only want to kill him for not doing something earlier.

Yet, despite all the 'what-ifs' running through Hiccup's mind, instinct moved his legs as Heather was pushed to her knees in front of the crowd. Dagur's scream of fury was ignored as Krogan raised a sword above Heather's neck. Hiccup had to give the woman credit - she didn't show a single trace of fear. Her calm demeanour only displayed acceptance.

"This is your last chance Hiccup Haddock! Show yourself or I'll kill her!"

Taking a deep breath, Hiccup slipped in between two Berserkers that stood right at the front of the crowd. It was now or never. Raising his hands, Hiccup removed the hood from his head.

"Drop the sword Krogan."

All the murmurs immediately silenced and all attention was turned towards Hiccup. This wasn't a great situation Hiccup concluded. He was unarmed and surrounded. In front of him, Krogan stood proudly, a small glint of disbelief showed in his expressions. The man hadn't expected Hiccup to reveal himself so soon. Behind him, was an unpredictable crowd. For the time being, he could assume that shock would overtake them. Hopefully, by the time the effect wore off, he would be long gone and on his way to meet Miara.

"Ah, Hiccup Haddock. You're looking well." Krogan mused and Hiccup chose to ignore the emphasis the man placed on his name.

"I could say the same for you, considering the last time we met I threw you off a cliff." Hiccup smirked at Krogan's glare. A sour subject, Hiccup assumed.

"Yes, well since then I have been very busy. I've built up my army, my reputation, and power. I can only assume you've done the same."

Hiccup raised an eyebrow. "Really?"

Krogan was taken aback. "What?"

"Do you honestly think what you're doing is going to work?" When Krogan didn't reply Hiccup continued. "You're going to get me talking, hopefully, distract me, and while that's happening have one of your men shoot me from behind those rocks." Hiccup gestured to a cluster of rocks about fifty metres away. "Seriously Krogan, you should know I've been doing this long enough to not fall for tricks like that."

Krogan growled.

"And, Heather." Hiccup finally made eye contact with the woman who had remained at Krogan's feet. "I'd advise that you get out of the way."

It wasn't until Heather caught the sight of a projectile in her peripheral that her senses finally kicked back in. She had been so shocked by seeing Hiccup alive that she had started to question whether this was a dream or not. Thankfully, her years of training her reflexes paid off as she rolled out of the way just in time for a bola to wrap around Krogan's legs. The man hit the ground with a pained grunt.

"And a piece of advice," Hiccup started as he stepped forward to retrieve the sword that had been knocked from Krogan's hand, "when you want to capture me don't let me talk."

Hiccup pointed the sword at the downed Krogan. "So, now that I've revealed myself why don't you stick to your end of the deal and take your men and leave."

Krogan only growled. "This isn't over Hiccup Haddock. Men, now!"

It was at that point that Hiccup realised he was out in the open with no protection from any enemy projectiles. Hiccup lifted his head just in time to watch five men rise from behind the boulders and fire their dragon root arrows right towards him.


	12. Please read this - its important

IHey guys. I know its been a while but I have a question for you.

If I came back and continued writing this would you guys still read it? Ive had some motivation to start writing again but I want to know whether I should pickupthis fic again or focus on something else. If you guys do wantme to continue Ill probably rewrite some chapters - not to change the story. Just to fix some plot holes and remove details that no longer fit the narrative.

I'd love to know what you guys want. And let me know if there's anything else you want me to continue writing or start writing.


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